By Chris Wright
The Football Association have confirmed that England midfielder Steven Gerrard will take full part in training today, after leaving all concerned fearing the worst when he pulled up just 20 seconds into yesterday’s session.
The Liverpool skipper felt a snag in his calf during an 11-a-side game that saw him receive 20 minutes of treatment on the touchline, before being able to resume with some light jogging.
Many felt that Gerrard may be set to miss England’s upcoming friendly with Japan on Sunday as a result but the FA have confirmed that the 30-year-old will train as normal this afternoon.
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In other news, England coach Fabio Capello is confident that Gareth Barry will be fit to play by the start of the World Cup.
The midfielder has been sidelined since he suffered ankle ligament damage against Tottenham on May 5th but, due to the paucity of alternatives, the 29-year-old anchor man has still been included in the provisional 30-man England squad.
Recent scans have shown that Barry’s injury is healing ahead of schedule and, speaking to Sky Sports Italia, Capello spoke of his optimism regarding the Manchester City man’s World Cup chances;
“[Barry’s] recovery time is shorter than we thought. We are going to decide next week. We are very confident.”