• World Cup

Barry given another week to prove fitness

Soccernet staff
May 25, 2010
Gareth Barry was injured on May 5 © Getty Images
Enlarge

Fabio Capello will give Gareth Barry another week to prove his fitness for the World Cup following a series of scans on the midfielder's injured ankle on Tuesday.

Barry suffered a ligament problem playing for Manchester City on May 5 and the Premier League club announced he was likely to be sidelined for four weeks.

England boss Capello has to name his final 23-man squad on June 1, ahead of their World Cup opener against the USA on June 11, and was expected to make his decision on Barry after receiving the scan results.

However, Barry has started 19 of England's 22 matches under Capello and such is the importance of the holding midfielder that the Italian looks set to hold off making a final decision until the very last moment.

England have flown out to Austria for their pre-World Cup training camp but Barry is reported to have returned to City for further treatment and may well lose his fitness race.

If Barry does not recover in time, Capello could turn to Aston Villa's James Milner or Manchester United's Michael Carrick, but both struggled to make their mark during England's 3-1 friendly victory against Mexico on Monday.

Capello has also been looking into the possibility of switching to a back three.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices