England have been hit with a double withdrawal as injuries ramp up ahead of their friendly clash with Brazil on Wednesday.
Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe and Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick have both been withdrawn from the squad due to a hip and ankle injury respectively.
“Michael Carrick (hip) and Jermain Defoe (ankle) have both withdrawn from Roy Hodgson’s squad to face Brazil,” the FA statement read.
“No replacements have been called into the squad at this time.”
Another doubt is Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge with his manager Brendan Rodgers revealing his doubts after their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
“I think he will be a doubt for the game on Wednesday, which is unfortunate because he was terrific today,” said Rodgers.
Despite the setbacks, England boss Roy Hodgson remained upbeat: “I’m pleased with the squad we’ve got and I hope we won’t suffer too much from today’s or Saturday’s games.
“I’ll then have at least the nucleus of players I chose to play the game. I think we’ve got some good players ourselves, but we know how good Brazil are.
“I’d like to think we’ll give them a good game and it would be lovely to start the year with a victory.”
Source: Sky Sports
