Capello gives Barry more time
Fabio Capello will give Gareth Barry another week to prove his fitness for the World Cup after a series of scans on the midfielder's injured ankle proved inconclusive.
Barry suffered a ligament problem playing for Manchester City on May 5 and the Premier League club announced he was likely to be sidelined for four weeks.
England boss Capello has to name his final 23-man squad on June 1, ahead of their World Cup opener against the USA on June 11, and was expected to make his decision on Barry after receiving the scan results.
However, Barry has started 19 of England's 22 matches under Capello and such is the importance of the holding midfielder that the Italian looks set to hold off making a final decision until the very last moment.
England have flown out to Austria for their pre-World Cup training camp but Barry is reported to have returned to City for further treatment and may well lose his fitness race.
If Barry does not recover in time, Capello could turn to Aston Villa's James Milner or Manchester United's Michael Carrick, but both struggled to make their mark during England's 3-1 friendly victory against Mexico on Monday.
Capello has also been looking into the possibility of switching to a back three.
Meanwhile, there was better news for England as Wayne Rooney declared himself fully fit and fresh.
Rooney, who struggled with ankle and groin problems during the latter part of the domestic season, dismissed fears he had picked up a problem during England's clash with Mexico.
"Fitness-wise I feel good. I have trained every training session with England since we got together," Rooney said. "I had a bit of a stiff neck after the game but that should pass in the next day or two.
"I haven't got an ankle problem. Like I said, I've trained every training session. I don't know where that (story) has come from. It's a load of rubbish."
Rooney added: "Do players feel jaded after a long season? Of course, it's a long season for everyone. I'm quite fortunate in I haven't trained a lot in the last six weeks.
"I have had a full week's training at the England training camp in Austria and I felt good out there. It can sometimes be a bonus having a break during the season. Fingers crossed it will be."
Rooney admits he is itching for the World Cup to get under way. But the Manchester United star also recognises the importance of the build-up programme.
He said: "You'd like to be out there in South Africa preparing for the first game, but this is also an important time. We are trying to make sure we get it right and are ready for South Africa."
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/790218/ce/uk/?cc=4716&ver=global[ 本文被OldSosad在2010-05-26 11:36重新編輯 ]
