Jamie Carragher will replace Gary Neville in England’s starting line-up against Trinidad & Tobago. Wayne Rooney will start on the substitutes’ bench for the Group B match in Nuremberg.
Neville missed out due to calf strain and, as expected, Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England coach, turned to the versatile Liverpool defender to fill in.
England are otherwise unchanged, with Paul Robinson in goal, and Carragher joining John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole at the back. Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Frank Lampard annd Joe Cole are named in the middle, with Michael Owen partnering Peter Crouch up front. Beckham captains the side.
Trinidad & Tobago have Shaka Hislop in goal, Cyd Gray, Dennis Lawrence, Brent Sancho, Densill Theobald in defence, Carlos Edwards, Chris Birchall, Aurtis Whitley and Dwight Yorke in midfield, with Stern John and Kenwyne Jones up front.
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Rooney was passed fit earlier this afternoon by independent medical advisors and may well feature from the bench. The Manchester United forward was examined by Angus Wallace and Chris Moran, from the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Eriksson had already claimed that Rooney was “match-fit” and ready to return to action after six-and-a-half weeks out with a broken metatarsal. But, following concerns expressed by the player’s club, the Football Association sought the advice of Wallace and Martin - as agreed with United - and Rooney has now been given the green light to play some part in the game.
The statement from the advisors said: “Wayne’s recovery has been more rapid than expected over the past week, and this is due to the excellent care he has received since suffering the injury to his foot and because Wayne has worked so hard at his recovery.
“Due to this, we were invited back earlier than anticipated to reassess Wayne . . . We are independent experts and would like to make clear that the findings of our evaluation and decision have been made without any pressure from the Football Association.”
The statement said that the advisors had “Wayne’s best interests at heart, as our sole concern is Wayne’s well being - now and in the future”. “This morning’s evaluation involved examining Wayne, watching him train, studying video footage of him in full-contact training over the past two days and discussions with the England medical staff. We have also had an extensive discussion with Ivan Carminati, England’s fitness coach and Wayne’s fitness levels are better now than before Euro 2004.”
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Rooney had made “a more rapid recovery” than expected, the advisors said. “The injury has healed and we are satisfied that he is as fit as he can be. We have carried out a full risk assessment related to returning him to play at this stage and that assessment has indicated that he is at no more risk than any other player who has recovered from an injury and is returning to competitive sport. It is our professional medical opinion that Wayne Rooney is now available to play in the World Cup.”
While not exactly offering a ringing endorsement of the news, Manchester United have nevertheless confirmed that the FA have kept them fully informed of the striker’s progress. And they also offered their best wishes to both Rooney and England for the remainder of the tournament.
“The Football Association has kept Manchester United informed of the medical progress of Wayne Rooney since he rejoined the England squad last week,” said a club statement. “As a player on international duty, Wayne, like the rest of the squad, is in the care of the FA’s medical staff.
“The club has been assured by the FA that it has decided Wayne’s fitness on the basis of medical evidence it has received and that such a decision was made with Wayne’s welfare as a key consideration. We wish Wayne and the England squad the very best in what we hope will be a successful bid to win the World Cup.”