Source: Telegraph
Ledley King misses England training
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has serious reservations about the defender's involvement with England and Capello has accepted that he will only use King either in training or for the matches against Slovakia and the Ukraine with monitoring from Spurs. [LNB]King's knee injury is so serious that he rarely trains and generally only attempts to play league matches while using cup and international weekends as time for rest. [LNB] Related ArticlesWembley's pitch problemWeiss's City family valuesCan Ledley King survive a week with England?Tottenham spurn Chelsea's title chancesNew kit designs for big fourEngland and Tottenham to monitor Ledley Kings kneeManchester City's Shaun Wright-Phillips also missed training yesterday with a back injury, while Portsmouth forward Peter Crouch was sidelined by a calf complaint. Neither injury is regarded as serious and both players should still be available for the match against Slovakia on Saturday. [LNB]All eyes, though, were on King when England arrived for training this morning at Arsenal's Hertfordshire base. [LNB]King was on the team bus with the rest of the England squad, but made his way straight to the gym where he is was met by members of the Tottenham medical team. It is thought that he was undergoing his usual training programme of swimming and muscular exercises. [LNB]King's persistent knee injury restricted him to just four Premier League matches last season but, since Redknapp's arrival at Tottenham the 28-year-old has played in 15 league matches. [LNB]Redknapp has encouraged King to focus solely on league matches and use cup and international weekends as time for precious recovery. [LNB]Redknapp said in the Sun: 'If Ledley plays against Ukraine next Wednesday, there is no way he would be able to play for us the following Saturday. [LNB]'I explained that but they have gone and picked him anyway. I can't see it myself, it's mad. It's pointless at best. [LNB]'Ledley came into training on Monday after the Chelsea game and his knee was badly swollen. He usually goes straight off to see the medical staff and they get to work on him. He hardly trains with us. [LNB]'He barely manages anything on a Friday the day before a game, that's how it has to be with him."[LNB]The Football Association have said lengthy discussions were held regarding King's health, and Soho Square have released a statement in which they pledged not to take any risks with the Tottenham captain. [LNB]'The England management have spoken to Tottenham Hotspur FC and explained that they will take no risks at all with Ledley King,' said an FA spokesman. [LNB]'They fully understand the player's injury situation but they wanted to have a close look at him in the team environment as Ledley has not previously been part of a Fabio Capello squad. [LNB]'He will be monitored during the week by the England and Tottenham Hotspur medical staff before any decision on training or playing is made.' [LNB]It is understood that Capello will not consider him for the relatively unimportant friendly against Slovakia. However, with both Rio Ferdinand and John Terry having missed recent matches through injury, Capello would ideally like the back-up option of King for the World Cup qualifier against the Ukraine. [LNB]Although currently both fit, Terry and Ferdinand have not played together since the 4-1 win against Croatia last September. Since then Phil Jagielka and Matthew Upson have both deputised, but Capello could not fail to have been impressed when he watched King help Tottenham record clean sheets over the past month in both the Carling Cup final against Manchester United and then the victory against Chelsea. [LNB]However, Redknapp believes there would be no chance of King competing in an international tournament, when games are played every four-five days. [LNB]'There would be no point in Ledley playing against Slovakia. Why would you do that?,' he said [LNB]'You couldn't throw him in to see what he can do because you could not take Ledley to the 2010 World Cup. His knee is not up to it. It'd blow up under the strain.' [LNB]
