Beckham in danger of rushing back too quickly

The words were promising, but not the facts. Talking of David Beckham, the England coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, said yesterday: "You can smell the optimism of the masseurs, physios and doctors around him. That gives me hope." Eriksson added that he had even discussed, with the players and medical staff, giving Beckham and Nicky Butt 20 minutes in Sunday's final warm-up against Cam-eroon. The decision, he said, would be made on Saturday.

All very encouraging, but Eriksson's optimism was contradicted by an X-ray, taken on Tuesday, which showed the break still had not healed. Moreover, Beckham appears to have slipped behind schedule. Ten days ago he said he expected to be kicking a ball with his left foot "in a week and a half", but yesterday, when Eriksson was asked if he had done so, the England coach responded with alarm: "I hope not. He shouldn't. He should wait for that."

In the circumstances, Eriksson's hope that Beckham could play any part on Sunday seems far-fetched. One doctor with experience in the field said his chances of making the Sweden match on 2 June, 10 days hence, also seemed unlikely.

There is clearly a danger is that Beckham will be rushed back into action too early. The memory of another Manchester United and England captain, Bryan Robson, being helped from the field and out of the 1986 World Cup after suffering a recurrence of his shoulder injury looms large. And with Beckham it would not just be the World Cup he missed. Gary Neville, who has also broken a metatarsal, was warned that another break would put him out until Christmas. "That would be very bad for us all," admitted Eriksson. "Beckham, Man United, England. We must be sure of what we are doing."

One member of the medical staff is likely to preach caution. The regular employer of Rod Thornley, one of the physiotherapists, is Manchester United. Yet Eriksson may not be listening. He is almost as desperate to get his captain on the pitch as Beckham is to be on it. Yesterday he compared Beckham's influence on England to Zinedine Zidane's on France.

Tuesday's draw against South Korea re-emphasised how short of world-class players England are, with their general play thin in quality and their free-kicks and corners lacking menace. Eriksson's awareness of England's dependence on a few world-class players had prompted him to suggest to Liverpool, he revealed yesterday, that he was "prepared to take a gamble" on bringing Steven Gerrard to Asia in the hope he recovered in time for the tournament. The Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier, made it clear the player required an operation and Eriksson gave way. "You cannot gamble with the health of young players," he said. Since Houllier admitted Gerrard had been troubled since February it might appear Liverpool did just that.

The lack of depth was also, admitted Eriksson yesterday, one reason for only choosing seven midfielders. "Tell me where is another Beckham, another Gerrard, another Paul Scholes and I would have picked a lot of midfielders," he said. It may be the realisation that he will only be used in a last resort that helped persuade Trevor Sinclair, who was ninth in the midfield pecking order, to return home. It is obvious that Eriksson would rather have a half-fit Kieron Dyer in the squad than a fully fit Sinclair and that, together with the knowledge that his pregnant wife was unwell, would have encouraged many a player to head home.

"If I told him 'you can't go home' he would have stayed but I don't want to keep people here if they are not happy," said Eriksson. Sinclair has been severely criticised in some quarters, but Eriksson said: "He is absolutely not turning his back on England. He has not gone on holiday. He will be working until the beginning of June for nothing. If people cannot appreciate that, something is wrong."

Yet no sooner had Sinclair's plane taken off than it became clear that, whatever his personal stresses, England would have been better served if he had stayed. Joining Beckham, Dyer and Butt on the injury list were Danny Murphy, Owen Hargreaves and Joe Cole. The scale of Murphy's ankle injury is unclear but it appears the most serious; Hargreaves only undertook light work at training in the rain because of a sore knee; Cole missed the session entirely after "tweaking" knee ligaments against South Korea.

It meant that, if he had to select from players in full training, Eriksson's midfield would have Paul Scholes and Gareth Southgate in the centre and Emile Heskey and Wayne Bridge on the flanks. It is hardly surprising that a Swedish scout, at Tuesday's match, is reported to have said afterwards: "If that's your midfield, we have nothing to worry about."

...and now Murphy joins the midfield wounded

No one is likely to call Sven Goran Eriksson "a lucky coach" again. Just when he thought England's midfield injury crisis could get no worse he had to watch Danny Murphy being rushed to hospital for an X-ray after suffering a foot injury in training.

There were only five minutes left of yesterday afternoon's session, conducted in light rain on an excellent surface, when Murphy landed awkwardly and felt "a sharp, sudden pain" in his left foot. X-rays failed to show a fracture so England are seeking to arrange a bone scan to establish the extent of the injury. Until this is done Trevor Sinclair, who was somewhere over Russia in a jumbo jet when Murphy's injury occurred, will remain on stand-by in England.

With six of the seven midfielders currently in South Korea carrying an injury of some kind there is obviously a possibility not only that Sinclair will have to return to Asia, but another replacement player will be summoned. Eriksson said if that was the case he would come from the Under-21 squad which is at present engaged in the European Championship finals in Switzerland.

Alan Smith, the Leeds striker who has made a successful transition to midfield this season, has been in impressive form for the Under-21s in Switzerland and also has experience with the senior squad, although concerns remain over his temperament. The Blackburn midfielder David Dunn, who is uncapped at senior level, would be another option.

Murphy was only in Sogwipo because of an injury to his Liverpool team-mate, Steven Gerrard. On Tuesday, against South Korea, he made his full international debut.

The run of stress-related injuries afflicting English midfielders is likely to raise, again, the issue of over-playing. It is not just that Premiership clubs play more games than most European counterparts, they also play matches of a greater intensity. Significantly Murphy, like Beckham, Gerrard, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville, plays for a club that had heavy European commitments as well as domestic ones.