Terry to miss Ukraine World Cup qualifier
ENGLAND will tomorrow be without centre-back John Terry for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley as a result of an ankle injury incurred in Friday’s victory in Moldova.
The Chelsea captain left the field in the game’s closing stages, with all three substitutes already used, to force England to close out the 5-0 victory with 10 men but while manager Roy Hodgson will have been encouraged by the convincing nature of his first qualifier, Terry’s absence worsens an already significant injury list.
In addition to Terry’s club team-mate Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, Scott Parker and Andy Carroll are among those also injured and consequently unavailable for selection. It remains likely that Terry will be replaced by another club colleague, Gary Cahill, in central defence alongside Joleon Lescott, though Phil Jagielka is another potential option from an otherwise dwindling list.
After scoring his first international goal in Friday’s victory, James Milner is one who is again likely to start but despite the injury to Terry, the midfielder is adamant that England need not panic, believing they can have complete confidence in their overall strength in depth.
“It is not going to weaken the team in any way,” said the Manchester City midfielder who scored England’s fourth in Chisinau.
“Obviously JT [Terry] is a top player and will be tough to replace but I think that you can see we are fortunate we have got a number of options who can step in there.”