Beckham joins the crock list

Sven-Goran Eriksson faces a nightmare scenario after England skipper David Beckham last night added to the growing list of injury worries ahead of the difficult European Championship qualifier in Macedonia on Saturday.

The England coach, whose plans were earlier disrupted when talisman Steven Gerrard was ruled out with an ankle injury, learned that Beckham suffered a niggling groin strain playing for Real Madrid in the 1-1 Spanish League draw at Villarreal.

The captain will learn the extent of the injury when the England medical team examine him at their Manchester base this morning.

Beckham tried to allay fears when he said last night: 'It's like a groin strain. It doesn't seem that serious but we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.'

However, the news is the last thing Eriksson needed to hear. After being told at lunchtime that Liverpool midfielder Gerrard and Manchester City's Trevor Sinclair would join Paul Scholes on the sidelines - with the distinct possibility that Rio Ferdinand will also be ruled out today because of a kidney complaint - the worried England coach said: 'It is very bad news. You have to give me some time now. If I'm honest, I don't know what I'll do. I'll have to look at training. I have to sit and think. It might be a midfield that has never played before. In fact, I'm almost sure it will be.'

These latest setbacks come on top of Eriksson's men having to face Macedonia in Skopje's City Stadium without the support of England fans after the FA declined tickets on security grounds.