Terry Fit for next England Match
MOSCOW: England captain John Terry will play in Wednesday’s Group E European championship qualifier against Russia after declaring himself fit on Tuesday.
Terry, who missed England’s 3-0 win over Estonia at Wembley last Saturday with a knee problem, told a news conference, “I am fully fit but I will have to have an operation in the near future to remove a bit of floating bone.”
“It’s not a huge op and I’ll only be out for two or three days. I won’t need any real surgery.”
England coach Steve McClaren, whose team will qualify for next year’s finals in Switzerland and Austria if they beat Russia, said the Chelsea defender would play.
“If John Terry says he is fit then he is fit. I trust him. He is my captain and if he’s fit he plays,” McClaren said.
Terry, who was replaced by Sol Campbell in central defence on Saturday, said he had felt the problem while training last week.
“My knee locked up, a bit of bone came away and the knee flared and swelled up,” Terry said but added it had improved with treatment over the last few days.
The captain added he no longer had to use the mask he has been wearing in recent matches to protect a depressed fracture of the cheekbone he suffered in a Premier League match against Fulham on September 29.
Five points behind second-placed England but with a game in hand, Russia will be hungry for victory in Wednesday’s game (kickoff 1500 GMT). A draw would qualify group leaders Croatia and stack the odds against the Russians.
McClaren said, “I am delighted to be in this position where it is all on Russia to have to win the game.
“We expect them to come storming at us for the first 20 minutes or so and we are determined to defend it right and to keep a clean sheet.
“You do not qualify for major tournaments in March or April, you qualify over the last few games in October or November and I always thought it would come down to this.
“It will be a very big test for everybody but I am confident we have the players to go out and complete the job.”
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