Duff facing Italy D-Day

DAMIEN DUFF is likely to discover today whether he must miss the forthcoming World Cup double header against Italy and Montenegro with a calf injury.

The winger is a major doubt for the crucial qualifiers after lasting just eight minutes of Fulham’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday. Duff pulled up suddenly and his club manager Roy Hodgson admits the nature of the injury had so far left him mystified.

“He felt something go in his calf,” said Hodgson said. “We won’t know how serious it is until we get the results of a scan. There was no one near him when he went down, it’s just one of those freak situations.”