England boss still thinking big

England go into their UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Israel with injuries worrying manager Steve McClaren, whose side need a win to restore their qualification credentials.

Casualty list
England were widely billed as Group E favourites at the start of qualifying but find themselves fourth in the field with five games remaining. McClaren will be without forward Wayne Rooney (foot), midfielders David Beckham (ankle/knee) and Frank Lampard (thigh), and defender Wayne Bridge (hip) for Saturday's visit of second-placed Israel. He is also monitoring the fitness of Steven Gerrard who broke a toe in Liverpool FC's UEFA Champions League victory at Toulouse FC last month.

Gerrard question
Gerrard was rested for Liverpool's second leg against the French team as well as Saturday's defeat of Derby County FC, but with so many absentees McClaren is keen to deploy the talismanic midfielder – Gerrard has three Group E goals so far – even with the aid of a painkilling injection. "What I've got to do is make sure we get the best players available to help us win this game," the manager said. "We are coming into big games and we need big players." Russia will be the week's second visitors to the new Wembley on 12 September.

Return of Heskey
With Peter Crouch suspended this weekend, Emile Heskey has been drafted into the squad; he could resume a once fruitful partnership with Owen – producing 14 international goals from 12 starts for the pair – for the first time since UEFA EURO 2004™. There may also be a 36th cap for 37-year-old goalkeeper David James, who replaced Paul Robinson for the second half of the recent 2-1 friendly loss to Germany.

Full complement
Israel, who trail group leaders Croatia on head-to-head record, welcome back six players for the trip to London. They will be attempting to protect a three-point advantage over the hosts, who like Croatia and third-placed Russia have played a game less. Dror Kashtan's team have already held England and Russia to draws and, with Ygal Antebi and Klemi Saban available to reinforce the defence, they can travel with confidence. Midfielder Michael Zandberg is another returnee along with forwards Yaniv Katan, Pini Balali and Elyaniv Barda, while England will be wary of playmaker Yossi Benayoun, a new team-mate of Gerrard at Liverpool.