Chelsea captain John Terry sustained ankle ligament damage from an innocuous challenge in the Champions League match against Porto. Which means he is out of Sunday’s Carling Cup Final against Arsenal, where he would have had to contend with the pace of Arsene Wenger’s ‘kids’ and the power of the player they call the ‘Beast’ loan signing from Real Madrid Julio Baptista.

The injury could see England manager Steve McClaren without his captain for two crucial Euro 2008 qualifying games against Israel and Andorra. Although these games appear on paper to be a formality, recent performances and results tell us that they may be more difficult than they seem. McClaren needs results and will not be able to use players availability as an excuse, as he has the whole of England to select a squad from and in his position he should be able to motivate the players to perform and get the results the country craves; even though pulling on an England shirt should be motivation enough.

Perhaps the recall of former captain David Beckham could be the remedy that cures the recent lacklustre performances that McClaren’s England have given.