It has been confirmed by FA that Chelsea’s duo: Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand will not be a part of England’s squad for their next world cup qualifier match against Poland in Warsaw on Tuesday citing their injuries and illness. Earlier, they both have missed the match against San Marino too, but this time, Roy Hodgson was hopeful for their comeback for Poland clash, and unfortunately, this could not happen. Last night, Football Association issued a statement and said, “Frank Lampard and Ryan Bertrand have been ruled out of England’s FIFA World Cup qualifier with Poland. Lampard and Bertrand did not take part in England’s 5-0 win over San Marino, and will not be ready for Tuesday’s game.” However, there is also a respite for Hodgson coz Steven Gerrard is now available, earlier he was out due to his nine match suspension. Besides, Ashley Cole can also be a part of English squad anywhere in between next week to boost players’ confidence. Monday morning Roy Hodgson and his 23 players squad has to leave for Warsaw for said match with Poland.
Reportedly, Lampard has not recovered from his calf injury while Bertrand is also suffering from an illness, and at the moment, they both are back to Stamford Bridge for resting and recovery from their respective injuries. As told, both of them have already missed out San Marino match which was won by England with a huge 5-0 margin. In last match, Hodgson used Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley as his central midfield. Tom Cleverley also issued a statement on Lampard’s absence. He said, “Frank’s a great player and can offer a lot to any team in the world. His box-to-box and scoring from midfield is a big part of our game. It’s a loss but that’s why you have squads, we’ve got a lot of good midfielders in the squad so hopefully he won’t be missed.” Cleverley also hinted about any possible shift in his position after Steven Gerrard’s entry to England team.
On the other hand, Chelsea is also hoping for both players’ availability ahead of their trip to Tottenham. Anyhow, it’s a blow for England especially after Theo Walcott’s chest injury in the last match that made him unavailable for at least few weeks. Let us expect other teammates to perform well and beat Poland as they did to San Marino or perhaps with a bigger margin – figures crossed!