David Platt was today handed a major blow ahead of the European Under-21 Championships when Ledley King was forced to withdraw from his squad through injury.
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Ledley King: Ruled out
(ShaunBotterill/Allsport) |
The Tottenham Hotspur defender was set to be the defensive linchpin of Platt's squad having come close to a place in Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad.
King joined up with the rest of the squad last night as planned, but with an ankle injury. And when the England medical staff examined the damage they decided he would not be fit to make the trip to Switzerland.
It is the latest defensive blow for Platt who, in addition to King, has seen fellow centre back John Terry ruled out by his impending court case and lost Wayne Bridge to the senior squad.
Blackburn Rovers defender Martin Taylor has been drafted in as a last minute replacement, but the loss of a player who at one point was an outsider for the World Cup will be a huge disappointment for Platt.
Platt will be hoping for better news of key midfielder Michael Carrick, who was due to report in today with an undisclosed injury problem. Carrick aside, the England squad went through their paces in rain-soaked Staffordshire this morning as they prepared for tomorrow's flight to Switzerland.
Platt and his European hopefuls got together last night after the final round of Premiership matches on Saturday and headed onto the training pitch at Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath complex to put the finishing touches to their planning.
England, who will be based in Basel, will open their campaign against hosts Switzerland in Zurich on Friday evening, and then face Italy in Basel on Monday, May 20 before completing the group stage with another tough fixture against Portugal back in Basel two days later.
Portugal are the only side so far to record a victory over England during Platt's nine-game reign, and although revenge would be sweet, the bigger picture is qualification for the semi-finals and a genuine chance of glory.
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