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Gareth Southgate confirms England to recall Harry Maguire for October games

The Man United defender was withdrawn from England's squad for September's Nations League fixtures
The Man United defender was withdrawn from England's squad for September's Nations League fixtures

Gareth Southgate plans to bring Harry Maguire back into the England set-up next month having withdrawn the defender from this squad following his Greek court case.

Four days after his arrest in the early hours of 21 August following an alleged incident on the island of Mykonos, the 27-year-old defender was found guilty of assaulting a police officer, swearing, resisting arrest and bribery.

Maguire maintains his innocence and has lodged an appeal with the Greek court system, with the Manchester United captain saying he feared for his life during his arrest.

United have said the appeal nullifies the ruling in a Greek court and means the defender has no criminal record ahead of a full retrial after he was handed a 21-month suspended prison sentence.

The defender will not be involved in England's upcoming Nations League double-header against Iceland and Denmark, with Southgate withdrawing him from the squad after the initial verdict was made.

Asked if he has been in contact with Maguire and whether he would come back into the thinking in October, Southgate said: "Yes and yes.

"We've been in touch right the way through the last two and a half weeks.

"It's clearly been a really difficult period for him and I think the last few days have been very important for him to relax, get away from all the attention and get a rest."

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