Soccer

Campbell to replace injured Terry

Veteran defender Sol Campbell will step into the breach for England against Estonia on Saturday as a replacement for injured …

Fri Oct 12 2007 - 01:00

Veteran defender Sol Campbell will step into the breach for England against Estonia on Saturday as a replacement for injured captain John Terry.

England coach Steve McClaren has confirmed the 33-year-old Portsmouth centre half will partner Rio Ferdinand in Terry's absence, after the Chelsea captain was ruled out of the Euro 2008 qualifier last night with a knee injury.

"I can confirm that John Terry won't play tomorrow and Sol Campbell will be the one to come in," McClaren said today.

McClaren expects to be able to make a decision on Terry's availability for Wednesday's game against Russia on Monday.

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He added on Sky Sports News: "His knee settled down today and we'll hope it settles down in the next two days and we'll make a decision on Monday."

McClaren admitted choosing between midfielders Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry is a "massive decision" that he has not yet made, but the Aston Villa man appears to be in pole position after stepping in following the Chelsea player's injury.

"It's a massive decision but a good one to be in to have two players who have performed well," McClaren said. "Frank Lampard has performed consistently over the years, Gareth Barry has come in to the last two games and done well.

"It will be finalised later."

The former Middlesbrough boss insisted he was focused on selecting the best team rather than necessarily the best individuals.

"We stressed that after the two games against Israel and Russia. The most important thing is about the team and not about individuals," he said. "You have to play as a team and I think we epitomised that over the last few games.

"These are managers' decisions and decisions that I think are best for the team at the time and what can get us three points.

"We have suffered from injuries before and are again. But it's great having competition for places."

England need three points against Estonia ahead of a crunch match with Russia in Moscow.  McClaren's side are currently second in Group E, two points ahead of Wednesday's opponents and three behind Croatia who play Israel at home midweek.