James Maddison plays DARTS at World Cup 2022 press conference as recalled England ace recreates iconic celebration

JAMES MADDISON was late for his first England press conference as he was busy playing darts.

The Leicester star took on a member of the media as he left other reporters waiting patiently for his arrival.

Maddison, 25, was all smiles as he tested his skills.

He appears to be an avid darts fan having performed a darts celebration after scoring against Nottingham Forest last month.

It will be interesting to see how he compares to his new England team-mates, who frequently played darts on their journey to the Euro 2020 final last year.

When he finally arrived to meet the press Maddison was asked about the injury which forced him off against West Ham on Sunday as well as his recall to the England squad.

Maddison's solitary cap came against Montenegro in 2019 but he has been rewarded for his fine form after producing seven goals and four assists in the Premier League this season.

On receiving news of the call-up, Maddison said: "I was actually having a chatting with Brendan [Rodgers] in his office, he asked me if I'd had the call and I said no nothing yet.

"He was just being a good man-manager, putting his arm around me if I didn't get the call. Working out how to keep me motivated for Saturday and then enjoying the break.

"I went downstairs into the dressing room and I'd missed a call off Gareth Southgate. So the heart starts beating. I'd had his number saved still.

"I went up and called him back and he gave me the good news, which was all a bit of a blur.

"After the call had ended it was a head on the wall moment, took a big deep breath and then I called my parents."

And when asked about his injury, the former Norwich star added: "The injury is OK. We had a scan the day before we met up and it was a positive scan.

"I had a little problem in the lead up to the West Ham game. I wanted to play, I didn't want to not play because of the World Cup, that's not the sort of person I am. I wanted to show the focus was still there.

"I managed to score early and carry on for a little bit after that but there was soreness and it was getting a little bit worse as the game was going on because I didn't want it to get worse and we could get someone on who can run at full sprint.

"The scan was a good scan and no major problem. i'll have to do a little bit of work with the physios here to get up to full speed."