Hart facing fight for No 1 shirt with Man City and England

Joe Hart is facing a fight to be England's No 1 - before the season has even begun.

Hart was hoping for a run of games for Manchester City to impress Fabio Capello ahead of the Three Lions' friendly against Hungary on August 11.

But now Shay Given has thrown down the gauntlet to his rival for the No 1 spot at City after declaring himself fit.

Given had been doubtful to make the start of the new campaign because of the dislocated shoulder he suffered towards the end of last season.

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper has recovered ahead of schedule and claims he is ready to make his comeback on City's US tour.

This is a blow for Hart, who knows he must be playing to have any chance of getting the nod from Capello.

The England jersey is up for grabs with David James expected to be pensioned off and Rob Green still under a cloud after his howler at the World Cup.

Hart is in prime position to take over and Capello is understood to view him as his goalkeeper for the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers, which start in the autumn.

Capello axed Ben Foster when he lost his place at Old Trafford and Hart knows he will only get a chance with England if he is playing regularly for the City.

Hart, 23, who excelled on loan at Birmingham last season, is determined to make this his breakthrough season with City and England and even returned early for pre-season training.

He jumped on a plane to join City's US tour barely two weeks after returning from the World Cup in South Africa and was the first England player to report back for duty.

He was keen to impress Roberto Mancini and started in City's defeats to Sporting Lisbon and the Red Bulls in New York at the weekend.

Given was hoping to figure at some stage in City's friendly against Mexican side Club America in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, which was in the early hours of this morning, and aims to dislodge Hart for Saturday's glamour game against Inter Milan in Baltimore.

The former Newcastle stopper no longer needs crash mats to protect his shoulder in training and took part in a full practice session ahead of the game in Atlanta.

Declaring himself ready for action, Given said: "The shoulder is better than ever and that's credit to the medical lads here at City, who have been unbelievable with me this summer. All credit to them.

"I have pushed myself hard, but not harder than I have any other time I have been injured.

"All you ever want to do as a player is play. It's no different than being a kid and being desperate to get out on the pitch or the street to kick a ball about. Being injured is incredibly frustrating.

"I feel sharp and full of optimism for the season ahead and can't wait to get into a game situation."

Mancini must now decide who his No 1 will be - and for Hart the stakes could hardly be higher.