World Cup briefing: Danny Welbeck was inspired by Mike Tyson’s autobiography

England striker turned to reading during
his long spell out through injury

One-Minute Read

The former Manchester United forward missed Euro 2016 through
injury but was named in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for Russia.
When he spent months on the sidelines the 27-year-old revealed that
he hit the books – and there was one in particular he enjoyed.

He told The Sun: “I had so much time on my hands.
Straight after surgery, I couldn’t put weight on my leg for two
months so I was just sitting around reading. I went two months not
even really leaving my house and I read more books than I did when
I was in school. 

“I liked the Mike Tyson one – he’s a fighter, he’s a mad
man. You fight for competition in sports and you see in different
athletes different mentalities and you take bits from each one –
although I’m not just a fighter, I like to give love as
well.

“I also liked Tim Grover’s ‘Relentless: From Good to Great
to Unstoppable’. That helped me through that period because it
talks about being injured as a sportsman and making your way back
into the game.”

Kagawa and Yoshida
in Japan’s World Cup
squad

Japan coach Akira Nishino has confirmed his 23-man squad for the
2018 World Cup, talkSPORT reports.

Former Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa, who plays for
Borussia Dortmund, is included along with Southampton defender Maya
Yoshida.

In Russia, Japan are in group H with Senegal, Colombia, and Poland.

Japan’s 23-man World Cup squad:

• Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Masaaki Higashiguchi, Kosuke
  Nakamura 
• Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki
  Sakai, Gotoku Sakai, Gen Shoji, Wataru Endo, Naomichi
  Ueda 
• Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui, Shinji
  Kagawa, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Takashi Usami, Gaku
  Shibasaki, Ryota Oshima 
• Forward: Shinji Okazaki, Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto