Phillips confirms Rice back in England training after being ill for last session

The West Ham captain has featured in all four of the Three Lions' World Cup matches so far.

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However, he missed training on Wednesday through illness, just three days before the they take on France in the quarter-finals.

Fears over his availability for the clash have now been squashed though, with his fellow central-midfielder revealing in an England press conference that the 23-year-old is now back with his teammates.

When asked if he would be ready to play if Rice wasn't fit, Phillips replied: "Yeah, but I believe Dec is fit anyway, he was back in training today.

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"He felt fine. If all goes wrong and Dec wouldn't be fit, then I'd do my best to try and complete the 90 minutes, yeah."

Phillips was a doubt to be called up to the England squad in Qatar, having missed most of the season through injury.

However, he was soon named in the 26-man squad, with the Three Lions now reaching the last-eight for the second tournament in a row.

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The Manchester City midfielder has made two appearances at the World Cup, coming off the bench against both Wales and Senegal.

Rice, on the other hand, has started every game so far and is likely to feature from the off once again on Saturday against Les Bleus.

England's match against France will be their first meeting in a major tournament for ten years, when they drew 1-1 in the Euro 2012 group stages.

Victory will see them progress to the semi-finals next week, and they will battle either Morocco or Portugal for a place in the final.

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