adminfracture of the jaw.
The national manager, who had previously justified Ferdinand’s omission citing “footballing reasons”, has called up the inexperienced Liverpool full-back Martin Kelly as a replacement for Cahill rather than the 33-year-old. The Manchester United defender, who has won 81 caps, made his frustration clear yesterday by posting the message “What reasons?????!!!” on his Twitter account.
Kelly made 12 Premier League starts last season and has 22 in his entire career, but he will travel to Poland on Wednesday as the sixth Liverpool player in the party, with two minutes of senior international experience behind him. The 22-year-old did at least train with the full squad in the buildup to making that brief debut in the friendly in Norway, with the national management confident of the full-back’s current state of fitness, even if he has travelled to New York on holiday since the game in Oslo.
He was summoned from that vacation yesterday once x-rays on Cahill confirmed he had broken his jaw on both sides, having been shoved into the on-rushing Joe Hart by the Belgium forward Dries Mertens during the 1-0 victory at Wembley on Saturday. The 26-year-old has now returned to Chelsea for treatment.
The Belgian player on Sunday night expressed regret for the blatant and unnecessary push in the centre-half’s back that earned him a booking but has now cost Cahill the chance to feature at his first major finals. “I sincerely apologise for the harm I’ve caused to Cahill,” he said. — The Guardian.
Online Reporter