‘Gutted and devastated’
END OF THE WORLD FOR OX:
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN will miss his third consecutive major tournament after being ruled out of the World Cup.
The England midfielder underwent a scan yesterday which revealed medial knee ligament damage after suffering the injury against Roma on Tuesday.
He will miss Liverpool’s run-in, a potential Champions League final and also the World Cup in Russia.
Liverpool are hoping he will be back for the start of pre-season training but he is expected to be out for at least two months after damaging his right knee.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been cursed with injury problems after missing out on the World Cup in 2014 when he made the squad – but failed to make an appearance after suffering a knee injury in the final warm-up game against Ecuador.
He stayed in the squad but then jarred his knee while trying to get fit for the final group match against Costa Rica, ending his hopes of playing. Two years later, Oxlade-Chamberlain missed the final months of the season and Euro 2016 after suffering a knee injury against Barcelona in February.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has been left heartbroken and devastated by the news, especially as his bad luck with injuries seemed to have been behind him since his £35million summer move from Arsenal to Liverpool.
It is also a major blow to England boss Gareth Southgate who has been hugely impressed with his form recently.
Oxlade-Chamberlain had played his way into Southgate’s plans to start the World Cup in central midfield having previously been dropped by England.
That is a measure of how well he has done since his Anfield switch and it is believed Southgate is sending him a message of support after his injury blow.
The England boss is also sweating on the fitness of another Liverpool player, Adam Lallana (right). He suffered a hamstring injury this month but is expected to be back in full training next week. Southgate is likely to give him every chance of making the squad amid a lack of other options in central midfield.
Jordan Henderson is favourite to start, Eric Dier will be in the squad while Jake Livermore could also now make the cut.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek could seize his opportunity but Southgate is not thought to be considering Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey despite his recent upturn in form.
Southgate’s doubts remain over Jack Wilshere. The Arsenal midfielder was called up last time but had to withdraw because of injury.
That only increases Oxlade-Chamberlain’s sense of bad fortune because it would have been almost certain for him not just to be in the World Cup squad but to also start England’s campaign.