Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is optimistic he will be able to accompany England to the World Cup finals after scans on the Arsenal player’s right knee indicated he has not torn the ligaments and will be ruled out for only two weeks.
The midfielder was injured in a second-half clash with Ecuador’s Carlos Gruezo during the 2-2 draw at Sun Life Stadium on Wednesday. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was making his first appearance since 20 April after his involvement in the run-in to the domestic campaign was hampered by a groin complaint, had been one of England’s better performers but departed the stadium in clear discomfort and underwent a scan on Thursday morning.
It is understood the results suggested he had strained the medial ligaments in the joint, rather than torn them, which would have constituted a far more serious problem, meaning the Arsenal midfielder still has a realistic chance of featuring in the tournament. The 20-year-old watched training at the Barry University campus with his knee in a brace and hopes to stay with the squad having posted a message on Twitter on Thursday night: “Gutted to have picked up an injury yesterday. I’m staying positive and getting to work with the medical team on recovery. Fingers crossed!” There is no indication that he is to be sent home to continue his treatment at Arsenal.
Roy Hodgson will take his time before making a decision over his participation. The England manager can take the injured player to Brazil and call up a replacement at any point until 24 hours before England’s opening Group D game against Italy in Manaus on 14 June, if his rehabilitation is slower than anticipated.
“It is very disappointing for Alex and the team,” said Hodgson on Thursday night. “It’s too early to make any decisions about what happens next – it is only 24 hours since the match so we have to wait and see. In the meantime, Alex is having regular assessment and treatment. The England medical team is in direct dialogue with their Arsenal counterparts and we obviously are all hoping for the best.
“He’s had a scan. He’s got some damage to his medial ligament. He will get very extensive treatment. We have the right to replace him up to 24 hours before the first game. We’d like to think we will go beyond the group stage, we are planning for it. I thought he was our best player against Ecuador. We will do everything in our power to keep him. There are several positions in the team where the competition is very fierce. Oxlade-Chamberlain was a very serious candidate.”
The national squad still includes John Stones and Jon Flanagan, neither of whom were named in the World Cup 23. Both have undertaken the FA’s gruelling specialist training schedule in Portugal and Miami to ensure they would be acclimatised and ready to step up if required.
Both have featured in the friendlies, with Stones having played as a substitute against both Peru and Ecuador. Flanagan was a late replacement on Wednesday. They were due to return home on Sunday when the 23-man party departs for Brazil, though it remains to be seen whether Hodgson asks one or both to remain with his travelling squad and journey instead to Rio de Janeiro. Stones could operate across the back-line and might free James Milner to concentrate on midfield duties after he stepped in as a back-up right-back on Wednesday.
The other midfielders in Hodgson’s original 30-man squad were Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley, though neither has undertaken the training regime. Neither would be a like-for-like replacement for Oxlade-Chamberlain, and the England manager may potentially consider Norwich’s Nathan Redmond, so impressive for the under-20s at the recent Toulon tournament but uncapped at senior level.
After experimenting with 10 changes against Ecuador, Hodgson plans to revert to a more orthodox team in England’s last warm-up match against Honduras on Saturday. Raheem Sterling would have played but will now be suspended because of his red card in Wednesday’s match and Hodgson said the Liverpool player needed to learn from the experience.
“I would be disappointed if he didn’t look forlorn and had come off the pitch whistling. That would make me ask questions of him. He’s obviously gutted because he knew he had a very strong chance of playing from the start on Saturday. I’d already told him that. Now he realises that chance is blown and he’s got to get himself back into the frame for the game against Italy.”
Hodgson confirmed that the seven players who were not included as substitutes against Ecuador – Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill and Daniel Sturridge – were rested with the Honduras game in mind. “They’ve got a place on the starting team on Saturday but I’m not prepared to go beyond that. Wednesday showed us it’s bit foolish to go beyond that because injuries unfortunately happen in these games.”