GROUP D ENGLAND:JOHN TERRY has declared himself fit and available for England's opening Group D fixture against France having recovered from the hamstring complaint that forced him from the field in the friendly victory against Belgium on Saturday.
The Chelsea centre-half had complained of a tightening in the back of his thigh at Wembley, prompting his replacement by Phil Jagielka and concern that he would be hampered at the finals.
However, Terry was able to play a full part in England’s first training session at the Hutnik Stadium yesterday without discomfort and the 31-year-old is expected to be able to partner Joleon Lescott in Donetsk on Monday.
Terry will shift across the middle to be the right-sided of the two centre-halves in the absence of his club-mate Gary Cahill, who broke his jaw against Belgium, but that switch should not prove problematic given that, although Terry tends to play on the left of the pairing for club and country, he is naturally right-footed.
“I’m fit and I trained today,” said the Chelsea captain. “And I’m more than happy to play on the right of the two centre-backs.”
Scott Parker emerged from the intensive 80-minute session in Krakow content that he will not be hampered by the achilles problem that disrupted the end of his domestic season.
Ashley Cole also took part but later missed an evening reception hosted by Jacek Majchrowski, the mayor of Krakow, in the city centre. His absence was explained away as “resting” by the English Football Association, though there were suggestions that the defender may have been suffering from a slight upset stomach. He is expected to train fully today.
The only other absentee from the evening event – which was held at an art gallery in Krakow’s central square, Rynek Glowny – was the striker Jermain Defoe, who had travelled home to London following the death of his father on Wednesday night.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward will return to Poland, with no replacement called up, though he may not be available for the France game.
The England manager Roy Hodgson operated for a large part of the training session with Danny Welbeck up front in partnership with Ashley Young, suggesting that combination will start at the Donbass Arena.
Guardian Service
