Fabio Capello will discover on Monday whether he has to rip up his World Cup master plan and go back to square one in his quest to deliver England’s first major trophy in 44 years.
Ever since he took charge of an England squad that had their self-belief stripped away by failure to reach the finals of Euro 2008, the Italian’s rebuilding work has been founded on the solid, unflashy attributes of Gareth Barry.
The Manchester City midfielder has started 19 of the 22 matches England have played under Capello, who sets great store by the 29-year-old’s ability to break up opponent’s attacks and lay the foundations for his side to respond.
But with the World Cup less than three weeks away, the day of England’s penultimate warm-up match, against Mexico at Wembley, will find Barry visiting an orthapaedic surgeon desperately hoping to learn that his damaged ankle ligaments have healed sufficiently for him to be included in Capello’s final 23-man squad for South Africa.
Barry suffered the injury playing for City in a defeat by Tottenham which cost his club their chance of playing in next season’s Champions League.
At the time, the prognosis was that he would have little chance of being fit in time to start England’s opening match, against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.
That appears to still be the case but Barry, who has been sleeping in an oxygen tent in a bid to accelerate the recovery process, will hope Capello can be reassured he is on track to perhaps feature on the bench in that match and that would probably be enough to persuade the Italian to put him in the squad.
Barry’s public pronouncements on the subject have been optimistic in tone but tinged with realism about the delicate nature of ankle ligaments.
“I’m hopeful I’ll get the all-clear, even though I’ll be crossing my fingers,” he said. — AFP