Seaman blow for England

Ken Dyer13 April 2012

David Seaman was today forced to pull out of England's squad for the World Cup qualifier against Greece.

The Arsenal goalkeeper joins club-mate Sol Campbell and Liverpool striker Michael Owen on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of a shoulder injury in training today.

The 38-year-old was on course for his 68th senior cap at Old Trafford on Saturday but now Leeds' former Crystal Palace goalkeeper Nigel Martyn looks certain to replace him.

Seaman missed Arsenal's Premiership match against Derby on Saturday but hopes were raised that he would be fit for the vital match against the Greeks when he joined in a light training session yesterday.

The vastly experienced goalkeeper was today forced to admit defeat, however, and England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has called Leicester's former Tottenham goalkeeper Ian Walker into the squad.

Football Association spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "David did some light training today but the shoulder still felt sore and he has withdrawn from the squad."

Seaman's absence looks certain to mean an 18th cap for Martyn. The alternative would be the relatively inexperienced Richard Wright, the veteran keeper's long-term replacement at Highbury.

Meanwhile, the England camp closed ranks around Steven Gerrard today as the controversy surrounding his midweek drinking session continued to dominate the build-up to Saturday's game.

The FA issued a statement this morning saying the matter was now closed and according to FA sources Gerrard has apologised to Eriksson.

He was spotted drinking until 2am on Tuesday - hours before he was due to meet up with the England team.

But it remains unclear why Gerrard was not disciplined more harshly after Chelsea's Frank Lampard was dropped from the squad for his part in a drinking session last month.

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