England head coach Gareth Southgate's planned to give injured Trent Alexander-Arnold a key midfield audition in the games versus Brazil and Belgium despite the team's defensive crisis.
Southgate's options at the back, particularly at full-back, were severely limited when he named his latest squad last Thursday with Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw all unavailable through injury - as was right-back Alexander-Arnold, who also missed out with a hamstring issue.
Nevertheless, it is understood Southgate had still earmarked Alexander-Arnold for a central midfield role, a plan he has been experimenting with over the past few months.