Gareth Barry set to miss England World Cup opener

Barry, 29, expects to be able to play in England's second match (Photo: D Brynjólfsson)

Gareth Barry has confirmed he will miss England’s opening World Cup match against USA on Saturday.

The Manchester City midfielder has been struggling with an ankle injury picked up towards the end of the season but was still hopeful he would be fully fit in time for England’s first game in Rustenburg.

Despite being ruled out of the game Barry, 29, is confident of being fit for selection for England’s second Group C game against Algeria in Cape Town on 18 June.

The former Aston Villa captain stated that although he will miss England’s first game of the competition he will begin full training with the rest of the squad tomorrow.

“I’ve been told I’m not playing against USA to give me more time,” Barry said.

“I’ll be back in full training with the team from tomorrow.”

Barry’s comments followed England’s final warm-up game before the start of the competition, a 3-0 win over local team Platinum stars, with Jermaine Defoe, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney all getting their names on the score sheet.

Rooney’s conduct has been called into question however after the Manchester United star was booked by referee Jeff Selogilwe for what he described as “Vulgar Language.”