London: Jermain Defoe, Daniel Sturridge and Michael Carrick are all set to miss England’s friendly with Brazil on Wednesday because of injuries.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters that striker Defoe could be out for two to three weeks with an ankle problem sustained in a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Defoe sustained the injury in the first half of the game at The Hawthorns, when he appeared to turn his left ankle in a bid to evade a challenge from West Brom’s Shane Long. He was substituted shortly afterwards.
Villas-Boas said Defoe would be sent for a scan to determine the extent of the damage. “I am extremely happy with the win, apart from the injury to Jermain Defoe,” he said. “He rolled his ankle. He will have to have a scan to reveal the extent of the injury. Hopefully there is not a lot of ligament damage. If there is, he could be out for two to three weeks.”
Liverpool forward Sturridge also hurt his thigh after scoring in a 2-2 draw at Manchester City.
“Daniel has a dead thigh. I think he will struggle to make the friendly against Brazil,” Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers told the BBC.
In the absence of Defoe and Sturridge, England boss Roy Hodgson would have just Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck from the original squad to call on as out and out strikers, although Theo Walcott was also named.
Rooney and Welbeck’s Manchester United team-mate Carrick will also miss the Wembley fixture with a hip injury.
