Capello Forced To Cope With Injury Crisis

Injuries have hit the England squad

Fabio Capello has been forced into a rethink after a number of England's stars were unable to join up with the national squad, potentially hurting the team's chances of beating old foes Germany in Berlin on Wednesday.

As such, William Hill is offering 13/10 on a home victory and patriotic England fans can get odds of 9/5 from the same bookmakers for an away win.

Frank Lampard is the latest player to be ruled out of the match, with a rib problem preventing him from taking the field.

Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard has been forced to sit on the sidelines by a groin injury and Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Wes Brown will miss out with back, chest and ankle concerns respectively.

Coupled with injuries to Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Emile Heskey, this leaves Capello with a selection headache.

However, England's Italian coach has played down the significance of the match, saying it provides him with an opportunity to try something new.

"Our opponents Germany are always a very strong team, and when they play at home even more so," he said.

"Everyone has told me that it is not a friendly game against Germany, but I think this will be a friendly game. We will do some experiments and after this game I will know better some different players."