Kelly in for Cahill as Hodgson's Euro woes mount
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 4, 2012
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Cahill falls to the ground after his collision with Hart. |
Eegland's injury troubles deepened yesterday when defender Gary Cahill was ruled out of the European Championship after fracturing his jaw in the final warmup match against Belgium.
The starting center back is the third England player in the last week to be ruled out of the tournament, following injuries to midfielders Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry ahead of the June 11 opener against France.
But another central defender and Cahill's Chelsea teammate, John Terry, was given the all clear by England's medical staff following fears of a hamstring injury after coming off during Saturday's 1-0 victory, although he will be re-assessed tomorrow before the squad travels to its Euro 2012 base in Poland.
Cahill was forced off with the injury in the first half at Wembley Stadium on Saturday after being shoved into goalkeeper Joe Hart by Dries Mertens.
"The Chelsea defender has two fractures of his jaw, one either side," the Football Association said. "The England medical team have been in close contact overnight with Cahill's club doctors who will treat him moving forward."
Liverpool defender Martin Kelly will return to the squad to take Cahill's place after initially being a standby member and only making his England debut a week ago when he came on in the 87th minute of the 1-0 victory over Norway.
Manager Roy Hodgson overlooked Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, who is more experienced with 81 caps, but injuries and loss of form mean he hasn't played for England since last June.
Hodgson insisted last month that Ferdinand was not going to Euro 2012 for "football reasons," and not due to fears over a potential conflict with Terry.
Terry is due to stand trial next month on a charge that he racially abused Ferdinand's brother, Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, during an English Premier League match in October. Terry lost the England captaincy over the case, which led to Fabio Capello quitting as coach in February and Hodgson taking charge last month.
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