England defender Glen Johnson says that Uruguay striker and Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez has told him that he will be fit for their World Cup meeting in Sao Paulo on June 19.
Suarez’s availability was thrown into doubt after he was forced to undergo knee surgery last Thursday, with his recovery expected to take between 15 days and four weeks.
The Liverpool frontman was the star performer in last season’s Premier League campaign, netting 31 times as the Merseyside outfit finished second to Manchester City on the final day.
He also claimed the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’ Association player of the year awards this season.
Johnson said: “I spoke to him in the week. He doesn’t think that it is that bad so he thinks he will be OK.”
England are valued at 3.00 to win Group D and have been drawn with Uruguay who are priced at 2.60, Italy and Costa Rica but Johnson insists the squad are not worrying about their opposition.
The Reds defender hopes that his domestic team-mate does recover in time because he feels that he deserves the opportunity to crown off a good year season with an appearance at the biggest competition in the sport.
He added: “On a personal level I don’t want to see him injured. He is a good lad and I get on well with him and, of course, I don’t want him to be injured.
“But we just have to focus on ourselves and let everybody else worry about the other teams.”
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