England

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FA play down Capello surgery

05 Jan 2010 - 10:42:14

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The Football Association are confident that major knee surgery which head coach Fabio Capello is poised to undergo will not harm England's World Cup preparations.

The 63-year-old Italian will go under the knife for a full knee reconstruction operation this week.

However, the FA do not anticipate any problems in his recovery and anticipate that Capello will be back in the dugout for the Three Lions' friendly against Egypt at Wembley on March 3.

"Fabio has suffered with problems to his knee for a long time due to injuries sustained during his playing career and has been left with no option but to have replacement surgery," said FA director of communications Adrian Bevington.

"He delayed the operation until after qualification for the World Cup had been achieved and at a time when England do not have a game.

"Fabio is planning to be in Warsaw at the beginning of February for the Euro 2012 draw and in South Africa for the World Cup team workshop later in February.

"He will be following all of the football on television while recovering from the operation. Our next match is not until March 3 at Wembley against Egypt and Fabio expects to fine by then.

"Fabio Capello and the FA would ask all media to respect his privacy while he has the operation and during his recovery."