Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Luton, Hodgson revealed that he has been impressed with a number of the squad who remained training in Copers Cope while seven were away representing their countries.
Discussing Michael Olise’s return to fitness – the Frenchman having returned from long-term injury as a second-half substitute against Everton just before the break – the manager said of his No. 7: “He was so good last season, especially in the 10 games I had at the end of the season.
“He was extremely good, then we lost him to that very, very bad injury he got playing for France U21s, so it’s just nice to see him back again and pretty much in training at least, looking like the player I remember from those 10 matches.
“But we have to be a bit careful judging him too soon. He hasn’t played any matches since June, apart from when he came on as a substitute, so I’m rather hoping that he will rediscover that form.
“Everything I’ve seen in training suggests he will and has already done so, but let’s wait and see in three or four matches’ time. If he’s played in those matches, we’ll have a better grip on the situation.”
Hodgson was also queried on how well summer signing Matheus França performed in training, given his first-team debut arrived at Newcastle United last month.
The manager explained: “He’s settling in well. Both he and [Naouirou] Ahamada have been pretty good during this two-week break – they have both impressed me with their training sessions.
“With Matheus, he seems to be settling in more and more. He’s getting better and better with the language and more attuned to what playing at the Premier League level is about, because he’s playing against such good players in training.
“I have to say that we, as a coaching staff, are more than happy with him. If he can continue along those lines then we have another player who will be knocking on the door of selection, as is also the case with Ahamada.”