Steven Gerrard suffers groin strain in England training

Steven Gerrard in action during an England training session

England captain Steven Gerrard did not take full part in their first training session in Brazil today after suffering a groin injury, reports the BBC.

England arrived in Brazil yesterday and today was their first training session ahead of their World Cup opener against Italy on Saturday. Gerrard performed some sets of shuffle runs on the sidelines but then returned indoors, leaving the rest of the squad to train without him.

However, despite the worrying reports that Gerrard has suffered a recurrence of an old groin injury, he is still expected to be fit and to start against Italy at the weekend.

The 34-year-old only played 45 minutes of England’s 0-0 draw with Honduras on Saturday, a game that he slammed his opponents for for their over-the-top aggressive tackling.

England manager Roy Hodgson and the medical team will keep a close eye on Gerrard throughout the week, but his injury is only regarded as a slight problem.

The rest of the squad had a strenuous session in searing heat at the Urca Military Base at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain, which is around 30 minutes from the team hotel in Sao Conrado.

Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also out on the training field but took part in some light runs with the medical staff as he works towards regaining his fitness following his knee injury sustained last week against Ecuador.