England News

• Nickname:Three Lions
• Founded: 1872
• Manager:Roy Hodgson

• Ground:Wembley Stadium
• Capacity:90000

Hargreaves adds to woe

06 Sep 2007 - 07:27:13

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Owen Hargreaves has emerged as the latest injury doubt for England's Euro 2008 qualifier with Israel at Wembley on Saturday.

The Manchester United midfielder did not train on Wednesday after reporting discomfort in a thigh muscle and was sent for scans to discover the extent of the problem.

The 26-year-old was set to play at the heart of the midfield against Israel with Frank Lampard ruled out and doubts still persisting surrounding the fitness of fractured toe victim Steven Gerrard.

Under-pressure England coach Steve McClaren will be hoping the scans confirm no serious problem and the ball-winning midfielder can return to training on Thursday.

Meanwhile, speaking before the injury scare, Hargreaves insisted England have the quality to overcome both Israel and then Russia next week.

"We want to play well, we want to score goals and we want to keep clean sheets," said the former Bayern Munich star.

"If you look at the match in Israel we completely dominated the game. They did not have a shot really.

"That was a home game for them, so I expect Saturday to be very similar. If we can get an early goal I think it will be very comfortable for us.

"I don't think they will throw people forward. They will get everyone behind the ball. An early goal will force them to open up and then hopefully we can get more.

"We're very confident. The preparations are good, the mood in the camp is very good.

"We are expected to win both games and we have the players to achieve that.

"We will try to get three points from Israel and then look towards the Russia game. There is a lot of football to be played but we are confident."