LONDON, May 30: England midfielder Frank Lampard injured his thigh in training on Wednesday, dealing another potential setback to Roy Hodgson’s plans less than two weeks before the start of the European Championship.
Lampard will have a scan and be assessed by medics on Thursday before a decision is made about whether the Chelsea player can remain in the 23-man squad, which has already been submitted to UEFA.
On Monday, central midfielder Gareth Barry was ruled out of the tournament because of a stomach injury and replaced by Phil Jagielka.
England can make changes to their squad due to injuries, which must be verified by a member of UEFA’s medical committee, any time before the team’s Euro 2012 opener against France on June 11.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson has been put on standby as cover for Lampard.
If the 33-year-old Lampard is ruled out, Hodgson could pair captain Steven Gerrard with Tottenham’s Scott Parker in midfield.
Parker had been struggling with an Achilles injury, but recovered in time to feature in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Norway.
“The injury is fine and being treated by the England medical team,” Parker said in Wednesday’s edition of The Sun.
“The biggest challenge is regaining full match fitness. I played against Norway and I’m getting stronger and have 10 days of training to get me in shape, so fingers crossed I’ll be fully fit when the tournament gets under way.”—AP































