Tom Heaton’s attitude in England training has been ‘absolutely outstanding’ according to boss Gareth Southgate.

Heaton has been with the squad as part of the Three Lions’ preparations for the World Cup which starts next week.

The Burnley captain was one of five players on the standby list when Southgate named his 23 man squad for Russia and has worked alongside other three goalkeepers, including team-mate Nick Pope. 

Clarets central defender James Tarkowski was forced to withdraw in order to undergo hernia surgery, with Heaton, along with Adam Lallana and Jake Livermore, meeting up with the group.

The trio were unused substitutes in friendly wins over Nigeria and Costa Rica, but Heaton will now take a break before returning to pre-season with the Clarets.

“The players are, for me, epitomised by Tom Heaton, Adam Lallana and Jake Livermore, who have been on standby with us,” said Southgate.

“Their approach to all of the training sessions, their commitment to the team in what is a difficult role to fulfil has been absolutely outstanding.

“I know all of the team appreciate what they have done.

“Hopefully we don’t have an issue and we’re not calling on them, but they’re ready if we need them and they have embodied the spirit that is there at the moment.

“They’ve been brilliant, they’ve all said they’re there, they’re ready, whatever they can do and wished everybody good luck.

“Of course they’ve played such a big part in getting us to this point.”

Lallana was the last to arrive but still came earlier than Southgate requested after cutting short his post-Champions League final break in a bid to prove his worth at the end of an injury-hit season.

“I think that definitely Adam and Tom are going away," Southgate said at Elland Road.

“Jake might be with us for one more day, but I'm going talk to him about that over the next couple of days.

“Without Adam's goal in Slovakia, maybe we're not even in the finals - such a key turning point after the disappointment against Iceland.

“To get that last-minute goal (in the opening match of qualification) really set up the group for us, so their contribution has been brilliant.”

Lewis Cook, the fifth member of the back-up list, has captained England Under-21s to Saturday's Toulon final.