Marcus Rashford joins up with Gareth Southgate's England camp after delaying his arrival due to a personal matter - but Kalvin Phillips is still yet to report

Marcus Rashford has reported to St George's Park ahead of England's clash against Malta on Friday after being permitted to join up late to attend to a personal matter.

The Manchester United striker trained on Wednesday morning and is likely to be in contention for a role in Friday's penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley given he has only missed one training session this week.

Kalvin Phillips, who was also given permission to join up later due to a personal issue, is still to report leaving his inclusion in the party to face Malta in doubt.

Rashford's return comes as a major boost to Gareth Southgate as he finalises his starting XI for Friday night's encounter.

The 26-year-old is now a regular in the England starting XI and his expected availability will come as a relief to the head coach, who is planning on playing a strong team against Malta as looks to cement his team's place at the top of the qualifying group.

Marc Guehi is among those hopeful of starting at Wembley as he looks to stake his claim for a starting role at Euro 2024.

The Crystal Palace captain appears to be in a two-way battle with Harry Maguire to start next to first choice centre-back John Stones in Germany next summer.

'It is hard to even think about that (starting at the Euros) just because there are so many top players here,' Guehi explains.

'To even try and put your name wherever is difficult. Ezri [Konsa] has been called up - a top player.

'Fikayo [Tomori] is always here, obviously Harry. John will come back - there are so many players so it is hard to imagine.'

Southgate is keen to experiment with tactical variations in the games versus Malta and North Macedonia on Monday night.

There maybe an opportunity for Trent Alexander-Arnold to resume his new England centre midfield role over the next five days, while Southgate will also look to develop the inverted full-back system he used in the friendly against Australia last month.