Eriksson hampered by Murphy's law

Sven-Goran Eriksson was today assessing the extent of his latest setback as the England injury jinx struck yet again to sideline Danny Murphy.

urphy became the fourth member of Eriksson’s midfield contingent in his World Cup squad of 23 to be laid low.

The Liverpool player was in considerable pain after landing awkwardly on his left foot in the closing seconds of yesterday afternoon’s training session.

Murphy had only been in the squad as a replacement for his Anfield midfield colleague Steven Gerrard, who was forced to rule himself out of the World Cup with a groin problem.

The one-time Crewe player joins skipper David Beckham (fractured foot) and knee victims Kieron Dyer and Nicky Butt in facing a battle to be fit for the opening match with Sweden on June 2.

It leaves Eriksson currently with only three fit midfielders, Paul Scholes as well as youngsters Owen Hargreaves and Joe Cole.

Murphy’s setback came on the day Trevor Sinclair was allowed to return home to England to continue his role as a stand-by should Dyer fail to make a sufficient recovery.

But Eriksson may now have to consider bringing in further replacements from his Under-21 squad now that his injury list is taking on worrying proportions.

Full-back Ashley Cole tweaked a knee ligament in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with South Korea while striker Robbie Fowler is still battling to overcome a hip problem.

Eriksson confirmed that all of the Under-21 players who have been in European Championship action in Switzerland were on stand-by.

But it is believed skipper David Dunn, Jermaine Defoe, Alan Smith and Gareth Barry are the likely candidates should Eriksson need to bolster his squad and make changes to the current personnel before the June 1 deadline.

Football Association spokesman Paul Newman confirmed: ‘‘In the last few minutes of Wednesday’s training session, Danny Murphy landed awkwardly on his left foot and felt a sudden sharp pain.

‘‘He was sent for an X-ray which failed to show a fracture.

‘‘The England medical staff are now planning a bone scan in the next couple of days to establish the exact nature of the injury, specifically whether there is damage to the bone.

‘‘It is too early to say how serious Danny’s injury is or how long it is before he is back to full fitness.

‘‘The England team doctor has been in contact with Liverpool FC to inform them of Danny’s condition and we expect to issue a further update on Friday.’’