G whizz: France's Samir Nasri is chased by Steven
Gerrard
Despair: England
captain Steven Gerrard cannot hide his feeling as he limps off the
Wembley pitch
Fabio Capello is on course for a row
with Liverpool
after reneging on an agreement to
play Steven Gerrard for only 60 minutes of last night's
England friendly against France.
Gerrard pulled his hamstring
and hobbled off in the 84th minute of a 2-1 defeat, a scoreline
that flattered England. He later limped away from the stadium and
said: 'It's not good.'
It sparked an instant angry
response from Roy Hodgson's coaching department. On his Twitter
page, Liverpool's head of fitness and conditioning, Darren
Burgess, wrote: 'Unbelievable from all associated with
England and English FA with regards to SG's injury.
Completely ignored agreement and past history. Completely
amateurish and now we pay for their incompetence. Absolutely
disgraceful.'
Capello said Gerrard stayed on
because slight injuries had forced Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry
to come off at half-time, and the manager needed the vice-captain
to stay on the pitch.
'We spoke with Steve and said
he would play one hour but, after Barry's injury we had problems,'
said Capello. 'That was the reason he stayed on the pitch. If it's
possible, the players will play the time we agreed with the club.
But Barry was injured so we needed someone senior on the
pitch.
'We are upset about what
happened to Steve, of course. He has a problem and we will have to
wait for the scan.
'They asked that he play one
hour if it's possible but they can't decide how long a player plays
with the national team. If it's possible, he would have played an
hour. I understand why they're upset, and I'm also
upset.'
By midnight, Burgess had deleted his tweets, although it
was unclear if that was done after an edict from
Liverpool.
Earlier Capello's assistant
Franco Baldini had felt obliged to phone Newcastle manager Chris Hughton and explain why Andy
Carroll was starting against the wishes of his club, who were
worried he might aggravate a groin injury.
Capello said: 'We checked him
before the game. He told me he was fit.
'No player has ever played
with me who was not fit. Our doctor said he was fit, so the player
was ready to play.
'I was really happy with Andy.
He played very well. He understood that he'll be a player who'll be
important for the future of England. When he received the ball he played
quickly, and his movement was dangerous.'
Carroll went off after 72
minutes with England already two down. Peter Crouch grabbed a late
consolation, his 22nd goal in 42 England games.
It was Capello's first Wembley
defeat after last month's goalless draw against Montenegro.
