England defender Phil Jagielka will put an end to his injury woes before the end of the season – but Everton boss Robert Martinez insists he will not rush him back.
Martinez said Jagielka will not return until the Everton medical team are 100 per cent sure he has recovered from his hamstring injury.
"Phil Jagielka has got his own programme and it is important that we follow that and we don't rush him back," he told Evertontv.
Phil Jagielka
- Born: 17 August 1982
- Place: Manchester
- Previous clubs: Sheffield United
- England debut: v Trinidad and Tobago (1 June 2008)
"He has been involved with the first team training now and that is a really good sign.”
The former Sheffield United man has not featured since sustaining the injury in the Toffees' 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on 22 February – but the Everton boss says he could be back within a couple of weeks.
"We want Phil back as quick as we can but not because we have got an injury with Sylvain [Distin],” he added.
"We aren't going to rush and do the wrong things in his individual programme.
Jagielka featured in seven of England World Cup qualifiers
"Phil is going to be fully fit very soon and I do expect that he will probably be able to make the squad against Manchester City [on 3 May] and that's always been the plan.
"I do believe that we will be able to reach that."
Martinez’s update will be welcome news for England manager Roy Hodgson who must name his provisional 30-man World Cup squad before the FIFA deadline on 13 May.
Jagileka, capped 24 times by England, was a regular throughout the World Cup qualifying campaign and featured in seven of the Three Lions ten games en route to Brazil.
