Sven-Goran Eriksson called up Rio Ferdinand into his England squad today despite doubts over the stg£30 million defender's fitness, but accepted that Paul Scholes has to miss the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Scholes has been ruled out for about a month by Sir Alex Ferguson due to a hernia problem, potentially even making him a doubt for England's final group game in Turkey on October 11th.
Ferdinand, meanwhile, also missed United's 1-0 defeat at Southampton today due to a kidney complaint and is due to see a specialist on Wednesday.
However, Eriksson is confident he will recover in time to face Macedonia next Saturday and therefore called him into a 24-man squad, which also sees recalls for Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney and Ian Walker.
Jonathan Woodgate and Darius Vassell are both ruled out through injury, but there is still no place for Gareth Southgate, while goalkeeper Chris Kirkland drops down to play in the Under-21 side.
Scholes' absence will be keenly felt by Eriksson, who has maintained faith in the attacking midfielder despite him not scoring for his country in over two years.
Indeed, he has started all but two of the 30 England games under Eriksson so far, the most recent of which was the friendly against Portugal last September.
On that occasion, he was left out of the squad only for Ferguson to pick him against Middlesbrough, leading to the England coach instituting a system in which he routinely called up any players with minor injury doubts.
After talks with United's medical staff this weekend, however, Eriksson accepted Scholes' injury is serious enough to warrant complete rest in the hope he could recover in time to face Turkey.
Ferguson had earlier revealed: "Paul Scholes is out for a month. A specialist will look at him because he's had two hernias already. This is a third and may take longer to heal.
"Rio Ferdinand will see the doctor on Wednesday and so we don't know about him."
Owen Hargreaves, who pulled out of the last England squad due to a groin problem, and Nicky Butt, who injured his ankle against Croatia but returned to action as a substitute in Southampton, will also be assessed.
While Vassell has a pelvic problem, Rooney's return is especially welcome to boost England's attacking options in a squad revealed on the Football Association's website, www.thefa.com.
When asked earlier this weekend if he would have any worries about selecting Rooney from the start away to Macedonia, the England coach had replied: "No, we showed that against Turkey, I think.
"Rooney was much better physically against Charlton than when I saw him against Arsenal. That was very positive."
As for Scholes' replacement in the starting line-up, it would seem to be a straight contest between Kieron Dyer and Frank Lampard, although Joe Cole has also been picked.
"It's not easy to find another Paul Scholes if you want to find exactly those qualities. There is not a second Paul Scholes in England. We will have to work and see what suits us best."
In defence, Gary and Phil Neville will contest the right-back spot along with Danny Mills, who has kept his place in the squad.
Hargreaves is another contender, although he could also be considered for the holding midfield role if Butt is not deemed match-fit.
Either way, Eriksson, who did not recall David Seaman but replaced Kirkland with Walker in order to strengthen the Under-21 side, is expecting a tough encounter in Skopje.
"I know for sure it's going to be a very difficult game. They did very well against us when we drew in Southampton last October," he said.
"We should have won it as we had the chances but that's football. It will be extremely important for us.
"If we want to go to Turkey needing a draw, then six points would be fantastic. Anything else could make life quite different."
England Squad:James (West Ham), Robinson (Leeds), Walker (Leicester); P Neville (Man Utd), G Neville (Man Utd), A Cole (Arsenal), Bridge (Chelsea), Mills (Leeds), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Campbell (Arsenal), Terry (Chelsea); Beckham (Real Madrid), Lampard (Chelsea), J Cole (Chelsea), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Butt (Man Utd), Dyer (Newcastle), Murphy (Liverpool), Gerrard (Liverpool), Sinclair (Man City); Owen (Liverpool), Heskey (Liverpool), Beattie (Southampton), Rooney (Everton).