Murphy joins England injury list
Danny Murphy has become England’s latest injury doubt after picking up a foot injury in training.
The Liverpool midfielder fell awkwardly in the last minute of today’s session and was sent for an X-ray which did not show a fracture.
However, the England medical staff are planning a bone scan to establish the exact nature of the injury in the next 48 hours.
Murphy is the fourth England midfield squad member to suffer an injury and was himself only called up as a replacement for club colleague Steven Gerrard.
Sven-Goran Eriksson will wait to establish the seriousness of Murphy’s injury before deciding whether any replacement is needed.
Ironically, the news broke just as Trevor Sinclair was due to land back in England after asking to go home once he had been placed on continued standby for the official 23-man squad.
Football Association spokesman Paul Newman revealed: ‘‘In the last few minutes of today’s training session, Danny Murphy landed awkwardly on his left foot and felt a sudden sharp pain.
‘‘He was sent for an x-ray this evening, which failed to show a fracture.
‘‘The England medical staff are now planning a bone scan in the next couple of days to establish the exact nature of the injury, specifically whether there is any damage to the bone.
‘‘It is too early to say how serious Danny’s injury is or how long it will be before he is back to full fitness.
‘‘The England team doctor has been in contact with Liverpool FC tonight to inform them of Danny’s condition and we expect to issue a further update on Friday.’’
Murphy’s injury comes in the wake of David Beckham’s broken metatarsal bone in his left foot, as well as knee problems afflicting Kieron Dyer and Nicky Butt.
If Eriksson now had to pick a midfield quartet for a match, he would have only Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Joe Cole to call upon.
The Swede does at least have Emile Heskey, Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge who could fill in if the need arose, with the Liverpool striker set to be used on the left flank against Cameroon in Sunday’s final warm-up game.
Sinclair, meanwhile, had decided to return to England after Eriksson decided to take a calculated gamble on Dyer being able to prove his fitness before June 1.
That is the deadline for England to name any replacements if players are ruled out by injury, with Under-21 captain David Dunn next in line to be called up after Sinclair.
