England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a serious doubt for the World Cup after suffering a knee injury in England’s 2-2 draw with Ecuador last Wednesday.
A scan yesterday showed that Oxlade-Chamberlain will be out for between 10 days to three weeks and thus likely to miss the group matches.
The 20-year-old Arsenal man looked lively during the 2-2 draw in Miami but then had to be withdrawn just after the hour mark when a tackle from Carlos Gruezo left him limping.
England begin their World Cup campaign against Italy on June 14 so it looks like Oxlade-Chamberlain will definitely miss the Manaus clash and the next match is against Uruguay on the 19th.
If it is only the 10 days, he might be available for the game with Uruguay and, of course, the later Group match against Costa Rica.
However, if he is out for the full three weeks, that would rule him out of all the Group games and that would probably mean the end of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's World Cup hopes.
Either way, it looks like manager Roy Hodgson has a decision to make.It would be a shame if Oxlade-Chamberlain missed out. He showed he has a lot to offer England with his pace and ability to beat players.
It may not be as bad an injury as first feared in terms of possible ligament damage, so England will hope he can stay with the squad, but it is a case of wait and see.
Hodgson said of Oxlade-Chamberlain after the Ecuador game: “It would be an enormous blow to lose him. He did ever so well and looked really, really sharp.” —
