Steven Gerrard will miss England's World Cup qualifier against
Belarus because of a groin injury. The Liverpool captain picked up
the injury during Saturday's 1-0 defeat in Ukraine and limped out
of Tuesday morning's training session.
Gerrard limped out of training on Tuesday.
England boss Fabio Capello, who said he would name an
''experimental side'', said: ''He didn't finish training because
the pain was the same as yesterday. He's going back to
Liverpool.''
Goalkeeper David James is also a doubt for the final Group Six
clash at Wembley after missing training.
''He had some problems with his knee,'' said Capello. ''He's
getting better, he'll stay with us and tomorrow we'll decide. '''I
will speak with him tomorrow. The other players are fit. There are
some little problems but not so big to be a problem.''
Capello also stressed the need for a different style, despite
eight wins from nine qualifiers. ''We need to play other styles -
style A, B, C. It depends on the opposition and the style of the
game we need to play,'' he said. ''I will do some experiments
against Belarus. It's possible to see a different style on the
pitch and that will be very interesting for me. For me, it is a lot
of experiments.''
However, the Italian backed Rio Ferdinand to bounce back from
the error which led to Robert Green being dismissed on Saturday.
Asked if he was concerned about Ferdinand's form, he said: ''No.
Rio will play tomorrow. I have big confidence in Rio, he needs to
play and I'm sure that Rio will get better every game.
''I spoke with Rio, on Monday and this morning, and I will speak
also with some other players. We will see the DVD of the game to
understand what happened and I will see the mistakes.''
Also missing from the squad will be Wayne Rooney, who withdrew
on Sunday with a calf injury. Capello is viewing the Manchester
United striker's absence as a good opportunity to test out the rest
of his squad, with Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor widely
expected to start.
He said: ''Rooney is a very important player for us and also for
United but the result tomorrow is we'll play a different style,
with some different players and it will be a very interesting game
for me. I will know some players better.
''I have big confidence in all the players. Rooney is important
because his style is the style I like in my team, but we have other
important players. We can win with Rooney and without Rooney.''
Skipper John Terry acknowledged that losing Rooney was a blow
but believes it is an opportunity for others to stake their claim
for a place in the World Cup squad.
''We have seen what a big player Wayne is for the side,'' Terry
said. ''He has been the heartbeat of the campaign and he has been
in great form. He is going to be sorely missed tomorrow night but
it is a chance for other players to come in and make their case to
be on the plane.''
Agbonlahor is one player who could benefit from Rooney's absence
and club team-mate Emile Heskey can help him to shine, according to
Terry.
''People talk about his goalscoring but Emile offers a lot more
than that. He is very hard to play against and his link-up play is
fantastic,'' said Terry. ''He has helped bring out the best in
Wayne in the past and tomorrow night it is a chance for him to help
someone else.
''Even players who have been playing regularly feel under threat
because if we are not playing well the manager is strong enough to
drop us.''
