Gerrard backs King for World Cup place
Ledley King may not be able to feature in any of England’s World Cup
qualifiers, but he should still be included in the final party that
heads to South Africa.
That’s the opinion of Steven Gerrard, who is not surprised by the belligerent stance of Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp.
A chronic knee injury means King, who has not played for England
since June 2007, is unable to train regularly or play more than one
match a week.
Redknapp was verging on apoplectic that his skipper should have been
called up for the England party to face Slovakia and Ukraine, before he
was later withdrawn, and Gerrard can sympathise with Spurs.
“Ledley’s very highly thought of by his club and the country so it’s
no surprise they both want him available because he’s a fantastic
player,” Gerrard told an England news conference.
“As an England player, I’m going to be biased and say I’m sorry to
see him go home. But he’s a Tottenham player and you’ve got to respect
what decision is made.
“He never trains but, when he is out there, he’s top drawer, there’s
no two ways about it. That tells you everything you need to know. When
he’s fit and available he’s as good as anyone out there.
“I’m not really too sure about the extent of his injury problems,
but, ability-wise, Ledley’s good enough to be in a World Cup squad.
“We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that when the World Cup squad is picked, he’s fit and available.”