Beckham boost for England
Beckham only arrived at the team hotel just after 5pm after his flight from Madrid was delayed after taking part in a match at Villarreal on Tuesday night.
That delayed his assessment by the England medical staff but, while there are no firm conclusions as yet, they are said to be “quietly confident” that he will be available to play in Saturday’s game.
Ferdinand, who has a kidney complaint, was forced to join Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard in being ruled out of the qualifier in Skopje.
That has removed three of the five players previously identified by Eriksson as the crown jewels of his side, who provide the spine which holds the rest of his team together.
But while the England coach can still turn to Michael Owen’s finishing prowess, with 23 goals from his 51 caps, he should now at least have Beckham available too.
The England captain sustained a groin problem while playing for Real on Tuesday night, adding himself to an injury list which also extends to Darius Vassell, Jonathan Woodgate and Trevor Sinclair.
Beckham revealed after the game at Villarreal that: “I have a slight groin strain so we will have to wait and see, but I don’t think that it will be a problem”.
The prognosis on Ferdinand was, however, more damaging to England’s chances against the team that held them to a 2-2 draw last October.
He missed Manchester United’s defeat at Southampton last weekend but had been hopeful of recovering in time to face Macedonia.
However, Bevington added: “After talks between the medical staff at United and England, Rio has been ruled out of the Macedonia game.
“He could not play in the game or travel. He will therefore be reassessed this weekend with a view to potentially being available for the match against Liechtenstein next Wednesday.”
That leaves John Terry, who made his full England debut against Croatia last month, in the frame to partner Sol Campbell in central defence in Skopje, with Matthew Upson in reserve.
In midfield the likely candidates to replace Scholes and Gerrard are Frank Lampard and Owen Hargreaves who, along with Beckham, could form a midfield trio slightly ahead of Nicky Butt in the holding role.
Butt has only appeared for 15 minutes as a substitute at Southampton last weekend after recovering from an ankle injury, but has come through two training sessions with England.
Kieron Dyer also took part in yesterday’s training session after missing out on Tuesday’s session with a hamstring problem.
Having been put through his paces in a solo session with physio Gary Lewin, he rejoined the rest of the squad and was said to have suffered no further problem.
With Wayne Bridge also back in training after having the insoles of his boots remodelled, Eriksson will be hoping that his injury problems have at least now bottomed out.
Beckham’s fitness would certainly provide a boost to the rest of the squad and, with 17-year-old Wayne Rooney expected to partner Owen, the England captain’s experience will be vital.
After all, Owen, Campbell, Beckham and either Gary or Phil Neville are set to be the only members of the starting line XI with more than 30 caps each.
Ferdinand and Gerrard, as well as Sinclair, could yet be back in contention for next Wednesday’s qualifier against Liechtenstein at Old Trafford.
However, England’s fate should be known before then as only back-to-back victories in the next week will leave them needing a draw in Turkey in their final game to make it through automatically.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
