Manchester City defender Kyle Walker is reportedly confident that he can recover from a groin injury in time for the World Cup in Qatar.

Walker underwent groin surgery after picking up an injury in the Manchester derby earlier this month, putting his World Cup hopes in doubt.

However, according to the Daily Mail, Walker is progressing well in his recovery and is hopeful that he will be fit enough to be included in Gareth Southgate's squad.

Although Walker might not be available for England's opening group game against Iran on November 21, he could still be selected with a view to featuring in the latter stages of the tournament.

While the Man City right-back is working hard to prove his fitness, Southgate could be without the services of Reece James, who sustained a knee ligament injury against AC Milan last week.

James is expected to be in a knee brace right until the start of the World Cup, and if he is unable to feature in Qatar then Liverpool's Joe Gomez and Arsenal's Ben White could be considered as alternatives.

Southgate is expected to name his squad for the tournament on November 10. body check tags ::