England call on Milner after Carrick ruled out of qualifiers
MANCHESTER UNITED midfielder Michael Carrick has been ruled out of England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers with a foot injury.
Aston Villa’s James Milner has been promoted from the Under-21 squad to replace Carrick, who looked out of sorts in Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona.
England face Kazakhstan on Saturday in Almaty before returning to London for the visit of Andorra to Wembley four days later. Victory in both of those fixtures would virtually ensure England’s qualification for next summer’s finals in South Africa.
Head coach Fabio Capello dismissed the suggestion United stars such as Wayne Rooney would be affected by last week’s European disappointment. “You have to forget what happened and move forward,” he said. “In football we are very lucky; we can win immediately after losing.”