Oxlade-Chamberlain out vs. Uruguay

ByKevin Palmer ESPN logo
Saturday, June 21, 2014

England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is not ready to play any part in Thursday's Group D World Cup clash with Uruguay in Sao Paulo, coach Roy Hodgson confirmed on Wednesday.



Oxlade-Chamberlain has been making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury he suffered in England's final World Cup warm-up match, but initial predictions from Hodgson and his medical staff that the Arsenal winger could be ready for this second group stage game proving to be premature.



"He is not in contention for tomorrow, but he will take part in the next four training sessions," Hodgson said when asked about Oxlade-Chamberlain's progress in his pre-match news conference.



"We could have taken a chance with him tomorrow, but it would be much better if he uses the four days after this game and before the Costa Rica game to train with the team.



"Fortunately for us, his injury has responded really well to treatment but I don't think we will put him into the firing line tomorrow before he has had some training sessions with the team."



Meanwhile, Hodgson has vowed to use all his firepower in Thursday's crucial Group D clash with Uruguay in Sao Paulo.



Defeat for England may end their World Cup dreams in double-quick time following their 2-1 loss to Italy last Saturday, but Hodgson was in a bullish mood on Wednesday.



"We saw on Saturday night that even a top team like Italy got tested by the quality of our attacking play so we're not going to put any of our weapons down," he stated. "Any weapon we've got we are going to try and use.



"Even though it is the group stages, this is knockout football. It is an important moment. We want to stay in the competition and to do that we've got to get results in the next two games. No one is running away from that."



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