02/06/2014 08:51 - ManUtd.com, Mark Froggatt
Jones ready to return
Phil Jones will make his return from injury on Wednesday as England face Antonio Valencia’s Ecuador at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami.*
Three Lions manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed the Reds defender will definitely start the match to boost his fitness ahead of the World Cup, having not played since hurting his shoulder during United’s 3-1 win over Hull City on 6 May.*
Jones will line up with Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has also been struggling with a groin problem and missed Friday’s 3-0 win over Peru at Wembley.
“They will both play from the start,” explained Hodgson. “They could have both played against Peru, but we thought an extra day's training would do them more good than being on the bench.”
England play their final warm-up match against Honduras on Saturday before jetting off to Brazil for their World Cup opener with Italy on 14 June. As Hodgson explains, every player will get a chance to shine before then.
“Our plan really on Wednesday is basically to start the people who didn't start on Friday," he revealed. "But plans like that sometimes go astray and I'm not prepared to make any promises.*
“We've got two more matches. Friday was an extremely important one, a good test and a good chance to see people play in a very serious game where there were 85,000 inside the stadium, which makes it a pretty serious game.
“Wednesday will be an opportunity for me to start the others and then, by Saturday, we've got all of them having played and ready to play. And then I'll have to make a decision over who does play against Italy.”