McClaren Has to Face Up to Loss of Ashton

Steve McClaren named an oversize squad for the lop-sided challenge of England's next two games - Estonia at Wembley on Saturday, then Russia in Moscow four days later - and must have been more sure of the wisdom of this decision after hearing the news that Dean Ashton is seemingly certain to withdraw after damaging knee ligaments.

Ashton sustained the injury in West Ham's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. 'I think Ashton's very doubtful [for England],' said Alan Curbishley, his manager. 'Very doubtful. He couldn't run near the end. He's hurt his medial ligament. You could see he was laboring around at the end, but we'd made our substitutions. I think he swung to clear a ball and caught someone's boot and tweaked his medial knee ligament. He could walk around after the game, but it all depends how bad he's done it. I should imagine a week or even two weeks looks a bit tight.'

It's another problem for McClaren, who had earlier said that getting his selection right for each game could be the toughest task of his managerial career. The situation is slightly different from usual because McClaren could end up picking two quite different sides. It would make sense to rest John Terry for the Estonia match, not simply because the captain is playing with a fractured cheekbone as well as a fractured toe, but because he is carrying a booking. England could ill afford to lose such an influential player to a caution against Estonia that would mean suspension in Russia. The same applies to Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Joe Cole, though clearly McClaren cannot rest everybody.

Frank Lampard is expected to return to action today to give McClaren an old problem as well as a new one, although the eternal midfield dilemma was given a fresh twist by the excellence of Gareth Barry in the past two England games. 'No player has a right to be guaranteed a place in the team,' McClaren said, quite properly, though it was not clear which midfielder he thought should miss out. Barry has done enough to stay in, especially as Lampard is likely to be struggling for full match fitness. Yet Lampard does one thing better than Barry - he scores goals - and with question marks over the fitness of Michael Owen, Ashton's probable withdrawal and doubts over other forwards, McClaren is keenly aware that a goal from midfield could make a decisive difference.

'It's not just about the last two games,' McClaren warned. 'Lampard was our man of the match in the game against Germany [in August], he scored our goal and he usually scores 20-plus goals per season. I agree that you need the right blend and the right balance in a team, but you have to produce as well. Wingers have to cross when they are meant to cross and goal scorers have to score. You need players who can produce.'

This sounds as if McClaren is edging towards Lampard, yet his logic is predicated on a difficult match - Russia - rather than the more straightforward challenge presented by Estonia. England should be able to trust their strikers in a home game against a side ranked 127th in the world and McClaren would be able to keep his word and please almost everybody were he to leave out Terry and Lampard at Wembley and bring both back, if deemed necessary, for Moscow.