England News

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

• Ground:Wembley Stadium
• Capacity:90,000

Midfield duo miss out

11 Sep 2007 - 08:06:02

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Injured England duo Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard have been ruled out of the vital Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia at Wembley on Wednesday.

Both players have been struggling with thigh problems that will not have improved for them to feature against Guus Hiddink's side.

Hargreaves and Lampard also missed Saturday's 3-0 win against Israel that put Steve McClaren's side back in contention to qualify for next summer's Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Manchester United midfielder Hargreaves has returned to Old Trafford, while Lampard has gone back to Chelsea.

Gareth Barry is expected to keep his place in the England midfield after producing an impressive display against Israel.

Peter Crouch, who was suspended on Saturday, is available again although Emile Heskey is expected to partner Michael Owen up front.

Shaun Wright-Phillips is again expected to play on the right of midfield in place of the injured David Beckham after scoring the opening goal against the Israelis, while Steven Gerrard will start after recovering from his broken toe.