England boss Fabio Capello has confirmed he will demand players' injuries are checked by national team doctors before future games. Liverpool ruled midfielder Steven Gerrard out of tomorrow's friendly against Germany in Berlin at the weekend but he was told to turn up for duty yesterday.

He was then sent back to his club when it was agreed he would not be fit for the match.

Gerrard is one of a number of first-choice players unavailable to Capello, who said: "We decided to check all the players to see if it's possible to recover the players or not.

"But we have to check every time their physical conditions. We respect the doctors of the clubs but I think it's right to check."

There have been claims relations between the clubs and England are strained, but Capello insisted that is not the case.

"I was manager of clubs and I understand the managers; the players are injured," he added. "We checked Gerrard because he went off in the last minute of Liverpool's game against Bolton and we found he is injured."