
Wayne Bennett has made just one change to the England team to face Lebanon at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
Alex Walmsley returns to the squad after recovering from a virus in place of the injured Sam Burgess, with Ben Currie taking his place in the second row.
John Bateman will remain at centre for the game in Sydney as England look to bounce back from their 18-4 defeat to Australia.
Lebanon won their opening fixture 29-18 against France to give them a superb chance of progressing to the quarter finals.
The result was the Cedars first ever World Cup win and they will now take on England in the first international clash between the two nations.
On the squad, Wayne Bennett, said: “We were unfortunate to lose Sam early in the game against Australia but received some good news and we can now possibly get him back sooner than anticipated.
“Apart from Sam, everyone is fit, healthy and good to go against Lebanon. Friday’s result was disappointing but the players have shown they wanted to get straight back into it and we had a great day in hot temperatures on Monday.
“Alex was in the match day squad last week and he was unlucky not to make the field. He’s feeling good again and I want to see what he can offer against Lebanon.”
On Lebanon, Bennett, added: “They’ve got NRL players in their squad and we know Brad will be getting the best out of them. They have got quality and we’re going to have to be good.”
England 21-man squad to play Lebanon:
1. Jonny Lomax
2. Jermaine McGillvary
3. Kallum Watkins
4. John Bateman
5. Ryan Hall
6. Gareth Widdop
7. Luke Gale
8. Chris Hill
9. Josh Hodgson
10. James Graham
11. Ben Currie
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Sean O’Loughlin
Interchange:
14. Alex Walmsley
15. Chris Heighington
16. Thomas Burgess
17. James Roby
Reserves:
18. George Williams
19. Mike McMeeken
20. Mark Percival
21. Stefan Ratchford
