Michael Carrick’s latest attempt to claim a key place in the England side has been thwarted after the Manchester United midfielder hurt his groin in training at St George’s Park and was ruled out of Saturday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia.
The 33-year-old pulled up 20 minutes into a light session on Wednesday and, having undergone a scan to determine the severity of the injury, was formally released from Roy Hodgson’s squad, who go on to play a friendly against Scotland in Glasgow next week.
The Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend is also a major doubt for those fixtures as he continues to struggle with an ankle injury sustained in the first half of Spurs’ home defeat to Stoke on Sunday, but will be assessed again on Thurstoday.
Carrick was the likelier starter against Slovenia, despite having only returned to full training at United last month after rupturing ankle ligaments in pre-season, an injury that required surgery on Louis van Gaal’s first official day as the club’s manager; his latest fitness problem is another setback for club and country. The player had been hoping to secure his 32nd cap, his first since the final World Cup qualifier against Poland 13 months ago, having featured only twice to date this term, as a substitute in the Manchester derby defeat and for the entirety of Saturday’s home win over Crystal Palace.
He returned home on Wednesday night and will undergo rehabilitation at Carrington with his participation in United’s trip to Arsenal, when the Premier League resumes on 22 November, in some doubt. The Football Association has confirmed the player will not be replaced in Hodgson’s squad.
The timing of the injury is in keeping with Carrick’s stop-start international career, which has already spanned 13 years. He was the longest-serving player in Hodgson’s selection having been capped by a quartet of permanent managers, over four World Cups, although he has only been selected for one of those tournaments.
Indeed, he has mustered only 754 minutes of competitive football since making his debut against Holland in 2001, too often finding himself the third man alongside competing with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard for midfield roles. To put that into context, his former club-mate at Old Trafford, Danny Welbeck, has managed 1,227 minutes since 2011.
Carrick had been a surprise inclusion for the Slovenia fixture given he had only been on standby for the summer’s World Cup in Brazil, and with Hodgson having placed so much emphasis on developing the youth coming through the national setup. The player himself admitted to have been unsure whether he would ever represent his country again. Yet the England manager has adopted a diamond formation and the midfielder – a five-times Premier League winner who also has one European Cup to his name – appeared the most natural fit to operate as a deep-lying player in that system. Those aspirations have, once again, been put on hold. “I feel great,” he had said earlier this week. “I’m aware you never really know how long you’ve got left, but that probably makes me appreciate things a lot more. I’m making the most of what’s left. Hopefully there are a good few years ahead of me. My ambitions are to play more, to play in a successful team, to qualify for the Euros and do well. That’s the goal, to get into the later stages.
“I never thought about retiring. It’s frustrating not to have played more, because I would have loved to have played, but it hasn’t happened and, to some degree, that must be my own fault. Not going to the World Cup was disappointing, but getting injured so quickly after coming back in pre-season focused my mind, really.”
Carrick, who made 26 Premier League starts for United last season, has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford and, while there have been no talks as yet over an extension, anticipates discussions in the new year. “I hadn’t expected any yet, to be honest, what with the injury,” added the player, who is eager to remain at the club. “It will probably be around Christmas or after that.”
