Frank Lampard has been ruled out of England's Euro 2012 campaign. The Chelsea midfielder suffered a thigh injury in training on Wednesday and went for a scan on Thursday afternoon to discover the extent of the damage.
However, Lampard and Roy Hodgson were preparing for the worst and the Football Association has now confirmed that the player, who will be 34 next month, will not be part of England's 23-man squad. Jordan Henderson had been placed on standby.
England have already had to deal with the loss of one midfielder, Manchester City's Gareth Barry, who suffered a stomach injury in Saturday's friendly win in Norway.
For Lampard, it potentially spells the end of his England career, with Hodgson expected to offer the younger midfielders a chance to prove themselves during next autumn's World Cup qualifying programme.
Henderson will be called into the England squad providing Hodgson receives approval from Uefa, which should be automatic as Lampard has suffered a fresh injury after Tuesday's deadline.
Lampard was only in his second day of training for the tournament, having joined the squad late after winning the Champions League with his club against Bayern Munich on 19 May.
Hodgson said: "It's a huge blow for the team, especially coming after the loss of another senior player in Gareth Barry. The fact that the doctor cannot guarantee Frank could take part in any of the group matches means we have to replace him in the central midfield area.
"Apart from it being a huge blow to me and the team, I'm especially disappointed for Frank himself. He has been in very good form and was looking forward to the tournament. He made a huge contribution towards us qualifying for the Euros so it is cruel to be forced out through injury just before the tournament."
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