Ankle injury rules Terry out of Ukraine match

Published on 10/09/2012 03:10

John Terry has been ruled out of England’s World Cup 
qualifier with Ukraine at Wembley tomorrow due to his ankle 
injury.

Terry suffered the setback during Friday night’s 5-0 win in Moldova and England finished the game with ten men after the Chelsea defender limped off in the closing stages. He continued to have treatment after returning to England but it has been decided, an FA spokesman said, that Terry will not recover sufficiently in time to face the Ukrainians.

Gary Cahill is likely to replace Terry and partner Joleon Lescott at centre-back in the second qualifying match. It would be Cahill’s first appearance at Wembley since he suffered the broken jaw against Belgium which ruled him out of Euro 2012. Phil Jagielka, who partnered Lescott when they were team-mates at Everton, is the other player in contention. Terry was one of England’s most consistent performers at the European Championship and helped his country overcome Ukraine in a group encounter. Left-back Ashley Cole had already been ruled out with the ankle injury which prevented him from playing in Chisinau and remains on 98 caps. But Leighton Baines proved a capable deputy against Moldova and scored England’s final goal.

Midfielder James Milner believes the current squad can comfortably deal with the absence of Terry. Milner, who scored his first senior international goal in the Moldova rout, said: “It is not going to weaken the team. With the strength of the squad and the players we do have, we are fortunate we have got a number of options who can step in there – Jags [Phil Jagielka], [Gary] Cahill or a number of other ways the manager could go.”