Manchester City and England international Kyle Walker could be risking a muscle fatigue problem if he plays for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions side against France in a World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.

The right-back would likely be facing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé should both players start the game at the weekend.

England injury news – Kyle Walker

After having suffered a groin injury back in October, Walker was unfit to play for England at the beginning of the tournament, with the full-back still regaining his match fitness following surgery.

However, the Manchester City star was selected by Southgate to start in England’s final group stage fixture against Wales, before the Three Lions’ 3-0 victory over Senegal in the last 16.

Having played himself back into fitness, the 32-year-old may have emerged as England’s first-choice right-back for the remainder of the competition if he is to keep himself fit as well as the side progressing further ahead in the World Cup.

But Dinnery, who has already told GiveMeSport that Southgate will keep an eye on Walker, is concerned about the chances of the right-back suffering injury, being as he’s coming up against one of the quickest players in football in Mbappé.

What has Dinnery said about Walker’s fitness?

Dinnery told GiveMeSport: “The concern is if Kyle Walker isn't 100%, then he's going to be pushed out of his comfort zone.

“He's probably going to be asked to run at least twice as far at that high end than he has done at any other point in this tournament.

“We know that fatigue is one of those big red flags that you have in terms of those muscles and those soft tissue injuries.”

What next for Walker and England?

With both Walker and Mbappé possessing bags of pace between the pair of them, the most interesting battle of the night will be to see who can use it to their advantage, in what could be the most critical battle in deciding what nation gets through to the semi-final of the tournament.

According to The Sun, the former Tottenham Hotspur man hit a top speed of 23.48mph during the 2019/20 season, which is the Premier League’s record.

But SpeedSDB states this is 0.1mph slower than Mbappé’s top speed, suggesting a fascinating battle ahead on Saturday evening.

Southgate and England fans will be desperate that Walker doesn’t end up injuring himself through fatigue in the side’s clash with France, in what promises to be the Three Lions’ toughest test yet.

However, the national team manager knows that his best chance of stopping the pace of Mbappé is by using the experienced full-back, and he may have to put the chances of injury to the back of his mind ahead of a huge clash.