Soccer:England manager Fabio Capello today insisted Frank Lampard remains a key member and "one of the leaders" of his squad. The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder started on the bench against Bulgaria on Friday, sparking speculation his international future could be coming to an end.

It was the first occasion Lampard had been left out of an England starting line-up, when fit and available, for a competitive game since the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. He could return for tomorrow’s Euro 2012 clash with Wales at Wembley.

“Frank Lampard is a really important player,” Capello said at a press conference, “like others that are here and some players that are not here like (Jack) Wilshere, Steven Gerrard and other ones.

“I think he’s ready to play with us. I don’t know if tomorrow he will play. Probably we can change the style to a different style to the one we played against Bulgaria because tomorrow we are playing at home.”

Highlighting Lampard’s importance to the England cause, Capello said: “He is one of the important players and one of the leaders of this squad.”