ROY HODGSON suffered yet another blow to his preparations for Euro 2012 when Gary Cahill was ruled out of the tournament.
The Chelsea central defender suffered a double fracture of his jaw in the 1-0 win against Belgium at Wembley. He collided with goalkeeper Joe Hart after being pushed by the Belgian winger Dries Mertens.
Liverpool's Martin Kelly, who made his international debut with a brief substitute appearance last weekend against Norway, will replace Cahill. Defender John Terry, who had a hamstring problem, is likely to make the trip to Poland and Ukraine.
England have already lost Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and John Ruddy to injuries as they prepare for the tournament, replacing them with Jordan Henderson, Phil Jagielka and Jack Butland.
The FA said in a statement: “Gary Cahill has been withdrawn from England’s Euro 2012 squad following the injury he suffered in the match against Belgium. The Chelsea defender has two fractures of his jaw, one either side. The England medical team have been in close contact overnight with Cahill’s club doctors who will treat him moving forward.
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“Liverpool defender Martin Kelly will be called into the squad - subject to agreement from Uefa’s medical team. Kelly trained with the England players last week and was part of the group that travelled to Norway.
“John Terry has been scanned this morning and given the all-clear. He will be re-assessed on Tuesday when the team regroup.”
The decision to call up Kelly appears to close the door on Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards.
Hodgson said last month that Ferdnand was left out of his initial 23-man squad "for footballing reasons". This afternoon, the Manchester United defender said on Twitter: "What reasons?????!!!"
Cahill's injury will be a severe blow for the player, who started the season at Bolton and ended it winning the Champions League with Chelsea. Hodgson said of the Mertens incident: “I wasn’t too happy about it [the challenge]. Unfortunate is too kind a word.
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“When a striker is chasing a defender who is feeding a ball to the goalkeeper, those nudges and pushes take the defender into the goalkeeper. It is something if you have been a goalkeeper you take very unkindly to.
“The referee gave him a yellow card, which he deserved. Unfortunately for us, the consequences might be a lot more than a yellow card."
Mertens took to Twitter this afternoon to issue an apology to Cahill: “I sincerely apologize for the harm I've cost to Cahill. When in the heat of the moment, you often don't think about the consequences ... My thoughts go out to him and I hope he recovers well!”
The fitness of Glen Johnson, Scott Parker and Saturday's goalscorer Danny Welbeck is being monitored, with Hodgson hoping they are all passed fit to travel. England's first game of the tournament is against France on June 11.
England's squad for the Euros:
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Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Rob Green (West Ham), Jack Butland (Birmingham)
Defenders: Martin Kelly (Liverpool), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton)
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Scott Parker (Tottenham), James Milner (Manchester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United)
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)