Kieron Dyer was today on the brink of being ruled out of Sven-Goran Eriksson's England World Cup squad.
The England coach claims the Newcastle midfielder is "almost for sure" ruled out because of the knee ligament injury he picked up against Southampton yesterday.
He faces at least four weeks recuperation and Eriksson has been forced to put West Ham winger Trevor Sinclair on standby.
There was more bad news for England when Eriksson also revealed Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard may need an operation on his groin injury after limping off during the season-ending match against Ipswich.
Gerrard will see a doctor in Belgium but Eriksson remains hopeful he could then link up with the England party, who leave for Dubai tomorrow to begin their World Cup preparations, on Wednesday.
PA