Sunday 9 September 2012

Lamps: England can cope without JT

                                                Lampard: England have strength in depth

Frank Lampard believes England possess the strength in depth to fill the gap created by an ankle injury which has ruled John Terry out of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
Terry will miss the Wembley encounter after suffering the setback against Moldova during Friday's 5-0 win in Chisinau.
England finished the game with 10 men when the Chelsea captain limped out of the game during the closing stages.
Centre-back Terry was assessed by England's medical staff over the weekend and he returned to his club after it was decided he would not recover in time to face the Ukrainians.
But Lampard has faith in either Terry's club-mate Gary Cahill or Everton's Phil Jagielka to step in alongside Joleon Lescott.
Midfielder Lampard said: "It is a blow for John personally and for the team because he is an inspirational player and a fantastic centre-half.
"He is a top player and experienced in these qualifying games.
"We saw his ability through the Euros in the summer and the other night and a big player, you always miss.
"But it's squad football and we are fortunate enough to be blessed with fantastic back-up, good centre-halves like Cahill and Jagielka.
"Whoever comes in are experienced top players. Whenever you lose a big player, you need the squad to step up and do the business and I'm sure we've got that."
The Football Association confirmed Terry's withdrawal in a statement on Sunday.
It read: "Following further treatment from the England medical staff today, John Terry will not be available for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday.
"Terry suffered an ankle injury in the game with Moldova and has returned to his club."
If Cahill is chosen, it would be his first appearance at Wembley since he suffered the broken jaw against Belgium in early June which ruled him out of Euro 2012.
Jagielka, who scored the opening goal in last month's win over Italy in Berne, has previous experience of partnering Lescott when the pair were team-mates at Everton.
Terry became the second player to withdraw from the squad in the space of 24 hours.
His Chelsea team-mate Ashley Cole had not recovered sufficiently from the ankle setback which caused him to be unavailable against Moldova.
It leaves Cole on 98 caps and he could now reach the century mark next month when England visit Poland and entertain San Marino in two more qualifiers.

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