England boss Roy Hodgson has admitted Daniel Sturridge is facing “a period of time” out of the game but does not believe the Liverpool striker broke his ankle during the 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland.
Sturridge got hurt during a first-half tangle with Glenn Whelan, shortly after crossing for Frank Lampard’s equaliser.
It was immediately obvious Sturridge was in considerable pain and though he made his way to the touchline, he had to be stretchered to the medical room and underwent scans.
“It is a major blow for him, and for us,” said Hodgson.
“Daniel had started the game so well, and the way we played in the second half with Sturridge in top form we might have created even more.
“I don’t want to say it’s a serious injury, but it’ll keep him out for a period of time. I don’t think anything’s broken, but we think it’s ligaments the doctor and the orthopaedic surgeon will have to contact Liverpool.”
Hodgson has already confirmed he will not call up a replacement for Sunday’s encounter with Brazil at the Maracana Stadium, even though he is now down to 16 outfield players.
And that number may be 15 by the time he selects a team to face the World Cup hosts as Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck is “touch and go” to recover from a knee problem that kept him out of this evening’s contest.
“He wasn’t on the bench,” said Hodgson.
“He went out for a run yesterday, and did an hour’s work in the gym. The swelling in his knee has gone down. It’s a question of whether we’ve got enough time between tomorrow and Sunday whether he plays.
“It will be touch and go, but he’s not ruled out.”
It was tempting to view it as an unhappy postscript to a disappointing evening given the manner in which England played. Yet Hodgson did not see it like that at all.
“I can’t be too disappointed with the way we tried to win the game,” he said.
“In terms of what we’re asking the players to do, there were a lot of positives.”
And Hodgson included within that Wayne Rooney, even though it seemed the forward, making his first appearance since May 5, was a little way off the pace.
“He did a lot of good things,” said Hodgson.
“He was very much involved in most of our attacking play. I was satisfied with his performance. In fact I’d be hard pushed to say too much negative about the players in our team.
“There weren’t many negatives, other than that we didn’t win the game. The opponents put a spanner in the works, and the Irish did that very well.”
England left immediately for their long flight to Brazil, although it is the four qualifying matches they must play in the autumn that remain more concerning given this display.
“I knew this would be a tough test, and it was even tougher than I had imagined because they were firing on all cylinders,” said Hodgson.
“Now they’ll get another type of test against the Brazilians. They’re the questions I’m asking and I have to accept we do have a lot of firepower unavailable to us. We just have to hope it’s with us in September.”
England must cross their fingers skipper Steven Gerrard and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere have recovered from injury prior to those vital World Cup matches in September and October.
For it didn’t seem the hosts were able to match their opponents’ midfield energy, and largely also lacked the guile to open them up.
“England are one of the strongest three, four or five countries in the world,” said Republic boss Giovanni Trapattoni.
“I look at my group, and three or four are young. They need experience. Only against a great team and great players can they grow.
“I am happy from what I saw: James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman. Shane Long was clearly the best on the pitch. I asked the players to show we can play without fear.
“I know what this result meant because I saw they were a bit tense in the dressing room. I didn’t want to put more pressure on them. I wanted to give them trust and confidence. They took my advice and accepted my message.
“The next friendly game against Spain will be another great opportunity.”