John Terry ruled out of England Euro 2012 qualifier
England manager Fabio Capello will be without former captain John Terry for Tuesday night’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro after the Chelsea defender was ruled out with a back injury.
The 29-year-old, who lost his captaincy earlier this year following a host of lurid tabloid newspaper allegations, has returned to Chelsea for treatment and will not be at Wembley tomorrow evening.
Terry becomes the third player to withdraw from the England squad after Phil Jagielka and Aaron Lennon both pulled out with hamstring and back injuries respectively.
However, it’s the talismanic central defender who Capello will miss the most. It’s believed that Manchester City centre-back Joleon Lescott will partner Rio Ferdinand, who is expected to wear the captain’s armband, at the heart of the England defence.
Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing and Bolton defender Gary Cahill have already been brought into the squad as replacements to face Montenegro, but the Football Association have confirmed that no further players will be called up.
England are currently second in Group G after winning their two opening qualifiers. But it’s their next opponents who sit top of the group after beating Bulgaria, Wales and Switzerland in their first three matches.
Capello will be confident of his side’s ability to seal victory in front of an expectant home crowd at Wembley, although the task could be more difficult with a makeshift centre-back pairing.
In 2006, Terry had an operation to fix a persistent back injury, and this appears to be a recurrence of that problem. Like his international teammate, Ferdinand, overcoming a back injury can prove an arduous task, and as yet Terry has not been given a return date.
It’s now down to Capello to ensure England maintain their 100% winning record in qualifying, by selecting either Lescott or Cahill to partner Ferdinand in a bid to thwart Group G rivals Montenegro.
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