Terry Ruled Out and May Need Knee Surgery

John Terry, the England captain, will miss tomorrow's Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia at Wembley and may yet face surgery. A scan on his injured knee at Chelsea's Cobham training ground was inconclusive because of swelling and another will be taken today. There is some damage to the cartilage.

It is hard to be confident about his return for next Wednesday's crucial match with Russia in Moscow, although the center-half remains in the squad for the time being. His club will oppose taking any risk with a player whose medical history has been troubled of late.

Terry pulled out of a practice session with England on Wednesday. It is not clear yet whether he sustained a new injury or aggravated an existing condition. The timing will have a bearing on the compensation the FA might have to pay Chelsea, but money will not be the first concern. Terry underwent back surgery last season and recently suffered a fractured cheekbone. The Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, badly needs defensive stability if his side are to compete for the Premier League title.

England, for their part, might have rested Terry tomorrow in any case because he is one caution short of a suspension but they counted on him for Moscow. Now McClaren is expected to turn to the veteran Sol Campbell for both games, although he might struggle with such a schedule. The manager had named Campbell, who has not been capped since the 2006 World Cup, in his squads for the three previous England matches this season but the player withdrew on each occasion. At Portsmouth he has had a minimum of six days' recovery time between each appearance this season.

Should Terry be ruled out, McClaren could earmark Campbell for one of the two Euro 2008 qualifiers. Micah Richards might fill the center-half role, as he does for Manchester City, in the other game, with Phil Neville deputizing at right-back.