Chelsea’s Frank Lampard: England can cope without John Terry

Frank Lampard believes England have sufficient cover to cope with John Terry’s absence for their 2014 World Cup qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley on Tuesday.

The Chelsea captain was ruled out of the Three Lions’ second qualifier after the 32-year-old picked up an ankle injury in England’s 5-0 victory over Moldova.

However, Terry’s club team-mate, Lampard, is confident Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and Everton defender Phil Jagielka are more than capable of covering for the Blues skipper.

“He is a top player and experienced in these qualifying games,” Lampard told PA.

“We saw his ability through the Euros in the summer and the other night and a big player, you always miss.

“But it’s squad football and we are fortunate enough to be blessed with fantastic back-up, good centre-halves like Cahill and Jagielka.

“Whoever comes in are experienced top players. Whenever you lose a big player, you need the squad to step up and do the business and I’m sure we’ve got that.”

On Sunday, the FA confirmed Terry would not recover from a knock on his ankle in time for England’s next game against the Ukrainians.

A FA statement read: “Following further treatment from the England medical staff today, John Terry will not be available for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday.

“Terry suffered an ankle injury in the game with Moldova and has returned to his club.”

Terry’s Chelsea team-mate Ashley Cole has also withdrawn from Roy Hodgson’s squad after failing to recover an ankle problem which ruled him out of contention for the Moldova match.

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