ROY HODGSON’S selection issues after losing Frank Lampard for Euro 2012 have been exacerbated by the latest prognosis on Scott Parker that shows England may have only one of their first-choice central midfielders fully fit for the start of the tournament.
Lampard received the news he had been dreading yesterday when a scan confirmed his thigh injury would rule him out of the tournament and, in the process, leave legitimate questions about whether, approaching his 34th birthday, this might be the end of his international career.
Hodgson described it as a “huge blow for the team” and his dismay is compounded by the latest evidence that Parker’s persistent Achilles injury is still troubling the midfielder.
England’s coaching staff felt Parker’s performance in the 1-0 win in Norway last weekend showed he was not back to the player he was earlier in the season.
That might have been expected considering he had barely played in the previous month but Parker has also been feeling the injury in training and there are misgivings about whether he will be able to play more than an hour in the final warm-up match against Belgium tomorrow.
With Gareth Barry and Jack Wilshere also missing because of injury, England are becoming increasingly reliant on Steven Gerrard’s injury issues not flaring up as they prepare to travel to their Krakow base on Wednesday, followed by their opening game against France in Donetsk the following Monday.
Even then there are concerns, bearing in mind Gerrard was restricted to only 45 minutes in Oslo.
As expected, Hodgson has called up Jordan Henderson, another Liverpool player, as back-up but Phil Jones is now first-choice reserve and, after that, the options in central midfield are increasingly limited.
Lampard was hurt chasing a ball into the corner during a practice game on Wednesday morning.
Hodgson said yesterday: “It’s a huge blow for the team, especially coming after the loss of Gareth Barry.
“The fact that the doctor cannot guarantee Frank could take part in any of the group matches means we have to replace him in the central midfield area.”
Guardian Service
