Source: Telegraph
England face goalkeeper crisis as David James undergoes surgery
James missed only his second game of the season, when Portsmouth beat Sunderland 3-1 on Monday night, with a neck problem, but it his shoulder that was giving England's first choice goalkeeper most cause for concern.
"It's something I've been playing with for 18 months," said James, "but now I've got to look at the bigger picture. I want to be fit for the start of next season with Portsmouth and I trust England to do well without me."
Hart, the Portsmouth manager, explained: "David complained of a stiff neck. He woke up with it. And he's had a long-standing shoulder injury that needs to be corrected, and he goes into hospital on Wednesday to get that sorted out.
"If he goes in now, we hope he'll be fit for the start of the season, but he'll be out for the summer. David's a very strong minded person. He's made a decision so he's fit for next season. A consequence of that, he weighed it up, and it has to be done. There has to be a sacrifice for that."
James' decision leaves Capello with a problem, particularly as potential replacement Ben Foster is also ruled out with a thumb injury. So fellow Italian Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, can expect a call from Soho Square urging him to wrap Robert Green in cotton wool.
Zola has long been campaigning for Green to be England's first choice and now he will almost certainly be just that next month, even though, at the age of 29, he has won only two caps and both were as a substitute.
Capello will not need reminding of the shortage of cover in the goalkeeping position. Of the 20 Premier League goalkeepers who started over the weekend, only three are English: Green, Newcastle's 35-year-old Steve Harper and Blackburn's Paul Robinson, who has been out of favour.
On the substitute goalkeepers, nine were English, but only Manchester City's Joe Hart, out of favour at Eastlands since the arrival of Shay Given, and West Brom's Scott Carson, could feasibly be called into the squad.
The FA's website lists six goalkeepers in the Under-21 squad including Hart, with the rest unlikely candidates for a full call-up. Of the other five, Ben Alnwick (Spurs), Frankie Fielding (Blackburn), Tom Heaton (Man United), Scott Loach (Watford) and Joe Lewis (Peterborough), there is no experience.
So Capello will be hoping Green is either rested, for West Ham's final game, against Middlesbrough, is given an easy time ahead of key ties.
The weekend's goalkeepers:
Arsenal: 1st Fabianski (Poland), sub Mannone (Italy).
Aston Villa: 1st Friedel (USA), sub Guzan (USA).
Blackburn: 1st Robinson (England), sub Bunn (England).
Bolton: 1st Jaaskelainen (Finland), sub Al Habsi (Oman).
Chelsea: 1st Cech (Czech), sub Hilario (Portugal).
Everton: 1st Howard (USA), Nash (England).
Fulham: 1st Schwarzer (Australia), sub Zuberbuhler (Switzerland).
Hull: 1st Myhill (Wales), sub Duke (England).
Liverpool: 1st Reina (Spain), sub Cavalieri (Brazil).
Man City: 1st Given (R Ireland), sub Hart (England).
Man Utd: 1st Van der Sar (Holland), sub Kuszczak (Poland).
Middlesbrough: 1st Jones (Australia), sub Turnbull (England).
Newcastle: 1st Harper (England), sub Krul (Holland).
Portsmouth: 1st Begovic (Bosnia/Canada), sub Ashdown (England).
Stoke: 1st Sorensen (Denmark), sub Simonsen (England).
Sunderland: 1st Fulop (Hungary), sub Colgan (R Ireland).
Tottenham: 1st Gomes (Brazil), sub Cudicini (Italy).
West Brom: 1st Kiely (R Ireland), sub Carson (England).
West Ham: 1st Green (England), sub Kurucz (Hungary).
Wigan: 1st Kingson (Ghana), sub Pollitt (England).
