Hargreaves to get shock World Cup call

[CDev]

Owen Hargreaves will be handed a shock ­passport to the World Cup after Gareth Barry’s dream appeared shattered.

Barry faces a minimum of four weeks on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments in Manchester City’s defeat to Spurs on Wednesday, with England medics fearing the injury is even more severe.

Boss Fabio Capello is ready to turn to Hargreaves as replacement in his starting side in the World Cup despite the Manchester United man having played barely 30 seconds in the past 21 months.

The Italian feels the Canadian-born midfielder, England’s best player at the 2006 World Cup, is the most natural choice to play as the main central holder, allowing Frank Lampard to make his trademark attacking runs.

Hargreaves has undergone significant surgery on a series of career-threatening knee injuries and only made his United return late on at Sunderland last week.

[I.LuV.ManUTd!]

GARETH BARRY will miss the World Cup with ankle ligament damage.

England boss Fabio Capello says the midfielder's injury will not heal in time. Capello said: "It is too long."



That means Owen Hargreaves is expected to be in the provisional 30 for next month's tournament when it is named today despite the fact he has played ONE MINUTE of football this season.

Joe Cole is also sweating on a place in the 30 and is likely to miss out unless medical reports are unfavourable to any other players.

Cole is no longer considered essential to the England cause.

Capello says he still has two positions in the provisional squad to decide on this morning

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Fabio Capello revealed on Monday that he had decided on 28 of the 30 players who would be in his provisional World Cup squad, ruling out Gareth Barry because it would take "too long" for the midfielder's ankle injury to heal.



The England manager will make his final two picks on Tuesday, after reading through further medical reports, with the strong possibility that Owen Hargreaves will now be included.

After suffering a series of injuries, the midfielder has played less than one minute of first-team football in the past 18 months – and was not in Manchester United's squad for the final league match of the season, on Sunday, due to illness.

Hargreaves' selection would be a risk although Capello will have the forthcoming training camp in Austria to assess whether he is mentally, as well as physically, ready. If selected he would be one of the 'wild card' choices that the Italian said was always possible to come into his squad.

But Hargreaves may not make it, which would throw a lifeline to Joe Cole, who appears to be the big-name player set to miss out. If Cole is chosen it would mean that Capello may deem the versatile James Milner as a central midfielder, providing cover in that area of the pitch, rather than call up Scott Parker or turn to Jermaine Jenas.

However it would mean England are without a specialist holding midfielder although Capello could ask either Michael Carrick or Tom Huddlestone to take that role, allowing him to include an extra wide player. It seems he will also now take four goalkeepers, to be reduced to three when the final 23 is announced on June 1.

On Monday Capello said he had "two decisions to make". Asked if they were injury-related, he added: "Yes, but not only. One medical report, the other one, different."

Capello's medical checks also include discovering whether he can risk Bobby Zamora, who is suffering from a sore Achilles tendon, although he is likely to make it as one of six strikers.

It appears Joleon Lescott and Wes Brown will miss out, given Jamie Carragher's decision to come out of international retirement and Ledley King's selection.

[treble99]

It didn't happen, I knew Capello wouldn't pick him