Butt injury latest blow for England

THE jinx apparently afflicting England at Euro 2004 struck again when Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

Two days after Sven-Goran Eriksson watched in disbelief as his side suffered an agonising last-gasp defeat by France, England’s head coach learned he would have do without one of the midfielders he has relied on most in his three-and-a-half years in charge.

Butt was told by doctors he will be unable to play for up to a month after a scan confirmed he had suffered ligament damage to his right knee during training at England’s base camp on the outskirts of Lisbon.