Terry blow hits England Euro hopes

MOSCOW, Russia -- John Terry dealt England's Euro 2008 ambitions a desperate blow on Tuesday when he was all but ruled out of the critical qualifier against Russia on the Luzhniki Stadium's artifical pitch in Moscow.

Chelsea defender Terry, captain of club and country, had to quit training when his troublesome knee 'locked' for a second time -- only hours after coach Steve McClaren had declared him fit to face Group E rivals Russia.

"John Terry is almost certainly ruled out of tomorrow's match. His knee locked towards the end of training and he could not complete the session," said McClaren.

Terry missed Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Estonia at Wembley with the knee problem, but he traveled to Moscow with the squad and was pronounced fit after a workout.

"Yes, I'm fully fit. My knee had sort of locked up, I think a bit of bone or cartilage was floating about and then it swelled up. With massage it has managed to dislodge itself," he said.

"I will have to have an operation in the near future, it is just a question of when.

"We will have to remove that bit of floating bone. I will be back playing in a week after the op I am told."

Then came the recurrence of the problem that will force McClaren to re-think his starting line-up for a match that could clinch England's place in the finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Terry has been playing in a protective face mask in recent matches, after fracturing a cheekbone in a Premier League game against Fulham at the end of last month.

Sol Campbell replaced Terry on Saturday and may deputise again, although there are question marks over the Portsmouth veteran's ability to play two matches in five days.

With Russia still smarting after last month's 3-0 defeat at Wembley, McClaren had admitted it was going to be tough -- even with Terry in the team.

"It will take a great performance," he had admitted. "We will have to be organized, we will have to be disciplined and we will have to be in control individually and collectively.

"And the key thing is the inspiration, the commitment, the attitude and the leadership.

"We need one of the performances we saw at the weekend from the rugby team, the kind of performance we have seen from many an England football team in recent years; Istanbul and Rome come to mind.

"We need heroes out there and that is what we are looking for.

"It is a big game. The players know the importance, they know what is required. They have to deliver that."

He added: "Four or five games ago, so many people doubted we would be in this position. But I always said the last five games would be critical. We have put ourselves in pole position. We have come here knowing a draw is a good result but we are coming here to win."

While victory would take England through, a draw would leave Russia needing to beat Israel in Tel Aviv and then hope Croatia can defeat McClaren's side at Wembley.

Russia's final game against Andorra should prove a formality!

"There is danger in thinking about the finishing line too soon," said McClaren. "Any thoughts of what qualifying will mean to me, the team, the country and the fans will be put to one side.

"There will be 70,000 people in the stadium tomorrow urging Russia to win. The pressure on them is huge. They are the ones who have to win." E-mail to a friend