England boss Roy Hodgson has given the team news ahead of the clash against Switzerland, which Michael Carrick will miss due to a calf injury.
England beat San Marino 6-0 in their last Euro 2016 qualifier and hope to maintain their cent percent record in the clash against second placed Switzerland. The Three Lions have already qualified for next year’s finals which will be held in France.
Carrick missed the 6-0 drubbing of San Marino due to a calf injury picked up in warm-up and has returned to Manchester United to undergo further tests in a bid to speed up his recovery process. Jonjo Shelvey played in place of the 34-year-old and had put in an impressive performance. Carrick has 33 international caps to his name with the last one coming against Italy in a friendly which was held in March.
“We don’t believe it’s that serious” – Hodgson on Carrick’s injury
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by Reuters, Hodgson said:
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“It’s a calf injury. We don’t believe it’s that serious.
“It’s quite strange because it came out of nowhere. It was at the start of the warm-up in San Marino. He felt something very small, very slight and just out of precaution we pulled him out.
“He had a preliminary type of scan here with our doctors and they decided there was something there. It’s time for Manchester United to take up the cudgel there and look at it more closely.
“I don’t think its a long-term injury, but it’s enough to keep him out of the game, which both he and I are disappointed about.”
Hodgson named Delph and Milner to be two players who can slot in Carrick’s position
The English manager insisted that there were a lot of midfielders in the squad who were more than capable of stepping into the shoes of Michael Carrick, during the veteran midfielder’s absence. As quoted by FA’s official website, the 68-year-old said:
“There are other options for us.
“Fabian Delph played well in the game [v San Marino], we have Ryan Mason, we have James Milner who is capable of playing in other positions.
“We have options in that area without radically changing our system of players.”