Source: Daily_Mail
Arsenal boss Wenger's fury at Capello over Walcott injury
Arsene Wenger has told Fabio Capello he has only himself to blame that Theo Walcott will miss England's vital World Cup qualifier against Croatia on September 9.
Capello suffered a double injury blow yesterday as it emerged that he is set to be without Rio Ferdinand and Walcott, who scored a brilliant hat-trick when the sides met in Zagreb last year.
The England coach's concerns have been compounded by Joleon Lescott's row with Everton boss David Moyes over the player's proposed transfer to Manchester City.
Capello agrees with Moyes that Lescott, who would otherwise be the likely replacement for Ferdinand, is no longer in the right frame of mind to play following his sloppy display in his club's 6-1 defeat by Arsenal.
Walcott's back injury, which will keep him out of Arsenal's matches against Portsmouth, Celtic and Manchester United, provoked an angry response from Wenger, who insists the winger would not have suffered it had he not joined the England Under 21 squad for the European Championship in June.
He said: 'Theo will not be available before the Manchester United game and certainly not for the United game (next Saturday). I believe it will be a problem for England as well. He has inflammation of his lower back. At the moment straightline running is OK but no curves.
'That's why last year I didn't want him to play for the Under 21s. I know how it works. The player comes back later than everybody else, he doesn't have a decent preparation, you are under pressure to rush him back, you play him earlier than you should, he gets an injury and you see him again in October.'
Walcott picked up the back problem in Arsenal's friendly defeat in Valencia earlier this month, his first 45 minutes of preseason action for his club.
Despite the injury, Walcott travelled to Amsterdam to join up with Capello's England squad for the friendly against Holland only to pull out of prematch training after just five minutes - a decision which left Wenger unimpressed with both his player and England.
He said: 'He went with the squad to Amsterdam. He was with the team. He had picked up the injury at the end of the game against Valencia. It was nothing for us because he didn't tell us. I knew nothing about it.
'On Monday he went with England. I arrived here and saw England practising. They told me Theo has a back problem but they will take him. It will be one or two days, he will be clear. It isn't.'
Ferdinand, meanwhile, has not played in the Barclays Premier League so far this season and last night United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed his absence would continue. 'Rio is out for three to four weeks,' he said. 'Last Saturday morning, he pulled a thigh muscle in training.
'He missed a couple of days' training after the recent England game in Holland, came back and he's done his thigh muscle. It's a small tear. But it will certainly keep him out for three weeks, maybe four.'
Capello, who knows England must beat Croatia at Wembley if they are to avoid travelling to the Ukraine in October with their qualification for South Africa 2010 still in doubt, is also without Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Dawson through injury, and Ledley King's fitness cannot be relied upon. All of which leaves Matthew Upson as favourite to partner captain John Terry for England.
The Lescott business may be cleared up next week with City expected to make an improved bid of around £22m. But even if he moves before the end of the month, Capello fears his lack of match action and the complicated transfer saga will have taken their toll on his physical and mental condition.
