England coach Sven Goran Eriksson last night called Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand into his 24-man squad despite doubts over his fitness, but has accepted that Paul Scholes will not be fit for the back-to-back games against Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Ferdinand missed United's 1-0 defeat at Southampton due to a kidney complaint, and is due to see a specialist on Wednesday, but Scholes has been ruled out by Sir Alex Ferguson for up to four weeks with a hernia problem. "Paul Scholes is out for a month," said Sir Alex. "A specialist will have a look at him because he has had two hernias all ready. This is a third and may take longer to heal."
However, Eriksson remains confident that Ferdinand will recover in time for the game against Macedonia and has resisted the temptation to include either Gareth Southgate or Matthew Upson, despite the absence through injury of Newcastle's Jonathon Woodgate.
Chelsea's Frank Lampard has declared his intention to win the battle to replace Scholes in England's midfield engine room next weekend. Lampard, who scored his first international goal when coming off the bench against Croatia last month, is hoping to get the nod ahead of Kieran Dyer, Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves.
"A year ago my aim was a place in the squad," said Lampard. "Now I want a place in the starting line-up. I did well in the last England game and I would like to think that I will be in for the next one. I have more confidence in my ability than ever before. I have come on a lot over last year and my all-round game has improved."
Eriksson, who has been forced to exclude Scholes from his squad, is leaving his midfield options open. "The practices we have before the Macedonia game will decide it. I am not sure yet. We have Dyer, he might be one, and Lampard, he might be another one," said Eriksson.
Despite not scoring for England for more than two years, Scholes has started all but two internationals during Eriksson's reign and the Swede admits that he will be hard to replace. "It's not easy to find another Paul Scholes. We will have to work and see what suits us best."
There are recalls for Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, but Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland drops down to the Under-21 side, whilst Darius Vassell is still unavailable through injury.
THE FULL SQUAD
David James (West Ham),
Paul Robinson (Leeds),
Ian Walker (Leicester),
Phil Neville (Manchester United),
Gary Neville (Manchester United),
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United),
Sol Campbell (Arsenal),
Ashley Cole (Arsenal),
Danny Mills (Leeds),
John Terry (Chelsea)
Nicky Butt (Manchester United),
Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Joe Cole (Chelsea),
David Beckham (Real Madrid),
Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich),
Kieron Dyer (Newcastle),
Frank Lampard (Chelsea),
Danny Murphy (Liverpool),
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool),
Trevor Sinclair (Man City),
Michael Owen (Liverpool),
Emile Heskey (Liverpool),
James Beattie (Southampton),
Wayne Rooney (Everton)
