Gerrard blow for England

14 April 2012

England face a midfield crisis ahead of Saturday's crucial Euro 2004 qualifier in Macedonia.

Steven Gerrard and Trevor Sinclair were today ruled out of the clash through injury, joining Paul Scholes on the sick list.

Bizarrely, Birmingham defender Matthew Upson has been called into Sven Goran-Eriksson's squad as cover.

England have never lost with Gerrard in the team, but they will be deprived of his services in Skopje by an ankle complaint.

The Liverpool star and Sinclair, who has a knee injury, were today sent home from England's training base in Manchester in the hope the pair can recover in time for the game with Liechtenstein next Wednesday.

Scholes, however, will miss both games while doctors assess a hernia problem which has put him out for a month and jeopardises his chances of playing in the Group Seven match against Turkey in October.

The England coach played down talk of a rift with Sir Alex Ferguson over the extent of the United player's injury.

Eriksson said: "Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard are extremely important players. I'm not sure what kind of line-up we are going to have.

"Scholes is one of the best midfieldersin the world, but we will have to deal without him. I talked to Sir Alex Ferguson and talked to Scholes. He has a real problem which he has to resolve but hopefully he will be back soon."

The absence of two of Eriksson's first-choice midfielders will boost Frank Lampard's claims of an England start, after scoring in last month's 3-1 friendly win against Croatia. Nicky Butt, short of fitness after an ankle injury, and Owen Hargreaves are other contenders.

David Beckham is in action for Real Madrid tonight against Villarreal and, given the problems in midfield, Eriksson is desperate for his captain to come through unscathed.

Eriksson added: "I have spoken to David Beckham and he is coming tomorrow, let's just hope he is fit when he arrives."

The Swede is less enamoured by the travel plans of a determined pocket of England fans still intent on making the trip to Skopje. The Football Association have turned down their ticket allocation for the game and threatened life bans for troublemakers caught in Macedonia.

With UEFA's threat of expulsion from Euro 2004 still hanging over England, Eriksson said: "I think it would be much wiser to stay home and avoid all the problems for themselves and for the England team."

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David Jones (Footballer)

Gerrard blow for England

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