The soon to be ex-West Brom boss will be sweating on the fitness of Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal players.
There was a big buzz yesterday when Roy Hodgson was officially introduced to the world as England manager. Soon the hard work starts, and reality will set in.
Much-praised prospect Jack Wilshere has already been ruled out of the tournament through injury, and England will not want to lose any more players. There are injury concerns ahead of the tournament, and here are five who presently have concerns over their fitness. All of these should be fit, but we predict not all of them will make it…
Darren Bent
Aston Villa have certainly missed their most regular goalscorer, after he was stretchered off with an injury against Wigan in late-February. His ankle is making a recovery, and he hopes to be fit to make the squad. Making a return for Villa this season is unlikely, but the striker is back doing light training, running and taking it slowly, and he is on track to make a recovery in time for England. Hodgson will want assurances over his fitness, because while fresh, he has no form to bounce into the tournament on, but England’s striking options are so dire, that they will be crossing their fingers that Bent recovers with no setbacks.
Steven Gerrard
The Liverpool midfielder is currently fit, with currently being the operative word. He has suffered badly with injuries over the past two years, and is being managed carefully by manager Kenny Dalglish, who has started him in just two of Liverpool’s last five league games. There is a sense his manager is treating him with kid gloves a little, but after such a lengthy time out he is right to do so. An automatic pick if fit, Gerrard on Hodgson will hope the midfielder suffers no recurrence of his problems between now and the season’s end. His last game for England saw him taken off after 25 minutes with a hamstring strain, and he played so infrequently during qualifying that he failed to score a single goal. The FA Cup final will be such a high-intensity game, that Hodgson will be watching on with his fingers crossed.
Danny Welbeck
Danny Welbeck has been reportedly ruled out of Manchester United’s weekend clash with Swansea after Nigel de Jong’s wild tackle on him on Monday night. He left Eastlands wearing a protective cast over his ankle. It has been predicted by club staff that he could be back for Euro 2012, and we know early prognosis is never wrong. Remember Jack Wilshere- supposed to have recovered from his ankle trouble by November? Tom Cleverley from October-February. And what if United rush him back to attempt to salvage their faint title hopes? We don’t want to be pessimistic, but this one may not be as simple as it seems.
Gary Cahill
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill will have been pinching himself and scarcely believing his luck one minute and cursing it the next. His hamstring injury meant he missed nearly all game in the Nou Camp, and has virtually been ruled out of the FA Cup Final this weekend. He faces a race to be fit for the Champions League Final, but if he misses that, concerns will accelerate over his ability to play a full-part at Euro 2012. He too is back in light training, and will hope he does not suffer any setbacks. Missing such a dream set of games will be heartbreaking for the defender, who has forming a promising partnership with John Terry, which he will still hope he gets to carry on this summer.
Theo Walcott
As soon as Theo Walcott injured his hamstring against Chelsea a fortnight ago, he was instantly ruled out for the season. We were all told the good news would be that he would surely be back for Euro 2012, but there are no guarantees. Walcott has had a mixed season, but after missing the last World Cup after being dropped by Fabio Capello, he would be devastated to miss out. Arsene Wenger said this week the pacy winger will ‘definitely’ be back, but he said Cesc Fabregas would ‘definitely’ stay last summer right?
Will all five shake off injury worries and play a part? Who would be the biggest loss?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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