Cahill ruled out of Euros with fractured jaw
Reuters - Sunday 03 June 2012, 19:09
England central defender Gary
Cahill was ruled out of Euro 2012 on Sunday after a scan showed
he had broken his jaw in two places in the final warm-up match
against Belgium.
The only glimmer of good news for a squad facing a deepening
injury crisis was fellow defender and Cahill's Chelsea team-mate
John Terry being given the all-clear after checks on his
hamstring.
The Football Association said Cahill had been withdrawn from
the squad for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine that starts
on Friday.
"The Chelsea defender has two fractures of his jaw, one
either side. The England medical team have been in close contact
overnight with Cahill's club doctors who will treat him moving
forward," it said in a statement.
Liverpool defender Martin Kelly will join the squad, subject
to the agreement of UEFA's medical team, after training with the
other players last week and travelling to Norway with them for
the first friendly of manager Roy Hodgson's reign.
Cahill was injured just 17 minutes into Saturday's friendly
at Wembley when he was shoved in the back and sent clattering
into his own goalkeeper Joe Hart by Belgium striker Dries
Mertens.
The FA had feared a broken jaw but hopes appeared to have
risen on Sunday when their director of football development
Trevor Brooking indicated the player could have escaped a
serious injury.
"At the moment we are still hoping that the 23 [squad
members] might stay intact," he had told BBC radio before the
bad news arrived.
Mertens issued an apology to Cahill on his Twitter page.
"I sincerely apologize for the harm I've cost to Cahill.
When in the heat of the moment, you often don't think about the
consequences," he said.
The FA said former captain Terry, who collected his 73rd cap
on Saturday, had been cleared after a scan and would be
reassessed on Tuesday when the squad regroup.
England play France in their opening Group D Euro 2012 match
in Donetsk, Ukraine, on June 11 and have already lost
experienced midfielders Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and reserve
goalkeeper John Ruddy from the original squad.
Captain Steven Gerrard limped off with cramp on Saturday
while goal-scorer Danny Welbeck was withdrawn to protect him
from a stomach reaction to antibiotics.
England go into the tournament with expectations lower than
they have been in decades and with striker Wayne Rooney
suspended for the first two group matches.