Lampard and Gerrard Ruled out of Berlin Friendly

Mounting injuries leave manager banking on an inexperienced squad

Nov 17, 2008

England midfielder's add their names to the injury list as Capello's team prepare to face Germany.

If it wasn’t a friendly then Fabio Capello might be forgiven for enduring two sleepless nights between now and Wednesday. Having lost no less than 6 first team players he’s had to soak up yet another cruel blow on behalf of his injury ravaged squad, this time thanks to the withdrawals of Frank Lampard (rib) and Steven Gerrard (groin).

The midfield duo will join crocked team-mates Rio Ferdinand, Wesley Brown, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Emile Heskey and Joe Cole on Capello’s lengthy missing list when an unfamiliar looking England team line up against Germany in Berlin on Wednesday night – the first time the two nations have met in the capital city since 1938. Rookie Manchester City keeper Joe Hart has also pulled out after sustaining an ankle injury in yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Hull City.

While the double whammy presents a midfield conundrum for Capello it’s bittersweet for uncapped Fulham playmaker Jimmy Bullard and West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker, who have been called in as last minute replacements. With David James likely to start on Wednesday evening, Blackburn Rovers stopper Paul Robinson – originally overlooked – has been drafted in to warm Hart’s place on the bench.

Capello will be hoping his inexperienced side can continue the rich vein of form that has seen England climb to the top of World Cup qualifying Group 6 after four convincing wins over Andorra, Croatia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. In the absence of Rooney the recalled Darren Bent – tipped to start alongside former Spurs team-mate Jermain Defoe - will be hoping to impress in what will be his first international opportunity under the stoic Italian.

Bullard and Parker, who won the last of his 3 caps in a forgettable 2-0 defeat against Croatia more than two years ago, will start from the bench while Manchester United’s Michael Carrick capitalises on Gerrard's absence by joining Aston Villa’s combative skipper Gareth Barry in midfield. The game will bookend a 15 month international hiatus for the in-form Carrick, no doubt aware that his last cap came in a drab 2-1 Wembley defeat against Germany in 2007.

With two days to go, the mounting injury list and a worrying lack of defensive depth will give Capello food for thought. While John Terry is fit to play after suffering a foot injury in Chelsea’s 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday he must consider who to play alongside his talismanic skipper; with Ferdinand ruled out the inexperienced Matthew Upson - so unconvincing against Kazakhstan and Belarus - is left to compete with internationally shaky Everton defender Joleon Lescott and the versatile Manchester City centre-back Micah Richards, whose form for the wealthy Eastlands club has dipped over recent weeks.

Despite the obvious setbacks, Capello remains upbeat ahead of the Wednesday showdown. ‘People tell me there are no friendly games,’ he told thefa.com. ‘But it is a friendly, and we will experiment.’

Likely line-up: James, Terry, Lescott, Johnson, Bridge, Barry, Carrick, Downing, Walcott, Bent, Defoe.

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