Keegan must find man for Batty's job

Kevin Keegan last night moved the peace process forward but lost his most experienced midfield warrior.

Having declared an end to the hostilities between Graeme Le Saux and Robbie Fowler, the England coach now has to find an abrasive alternative to David Batty for Saturday's crucial European Championship qualifier against Poland at Wembley.

Batty has pulled out of the squad with a chest infection leaving Keegan with a woeful shortage of defensive know-how in the central positions.

With Paul Ince suspended, Keegan was hoping that Batty, although short of match practice with Leeds United following a rib injury, would be an anchor against a Polish side looking for opportunities to catch England on the break. Now the job may be given to Ray Parlour, who has performed a similar task for Arsenal.

The England coach may feel that he needs Paul Scholes, who has a World Cup behind him, as much for his defensive qualities as his attacking instincts. Phil Neville, recalled to the squad by Keegan, has played in midfield for Manchester United but with Andy Hinchcliffe dropping out yesterday because of back trouble the younger Neville is now vying with Le Saux for the position on the left side of the defence.

Le Saux and Fowler finally appear to have made it up following the incident at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago when the Chelsea defender elbowed the back of the Liverpool striker's head after Fowler had appeared to make obscene gestures in his direction. Keegan said that the players had shaken hands within minutes of arriving at the team hotel and had told him there was no personal animosity between them.

Keegan will decide today whether he needs replacements. Rob Lee, like Batty a reliable component of Keegan's Newcastle United team, could be recalled and West Ham United's Frank Lampard is another possibility although with Jamie Redknapp available and David Beckham, Darren Anderton and Steve McManaman each capable of moving inside from the flanks, England are not short of creative players.

With goalkeeper Ian Walker already brought into the squad as cover for Nigel Martyn, who has a back injury, Keegan has now called up Paul Robinson, the Under-21 goalkeeper and Martyn's deputy at Leeds, because David Seaman is feeling a twinge in a shoulder.

Meanwhile, Italy will be without star striker Christian Vieri for their qualifiers against Denmark and Belarus after the Lazio man suffered a foot injury at the weekend.

A rash of injuries has forced coach Dino Zoff to leave out Vieri, goalkeepers Angelo Peruzzi and Francesco Toldo, and midfielder Demetrio Albertini.

Vieri's place will probably go to AS Roma's erratic Marco Delvecchio.

Roma team-mate Francesco Totti, Parma's Enrico Chiesa and Inter Milan's Roberto Baggio were also picked up front, while Filippo Inzaghi of Juventus returns from injury.

Chelsea's Roberto Di Matteo was passed over in a midfield lineup which includes Juventus skipper Antonio Conte, Parma's Dino Baggio, club teammate Diego Fuser and Roma pair Luigi Di Biagio and Eusebio Di Francesco.

Injury hit Russia will be missing five of their key players when they face Armenia and Andorra on March 27th and 31st respectively.

Russia captain Alexander Mostovoi, who plays for Celta Vigo, Borussia Dortmund Vladimir But, PSV Eindhoven Yuri Nikiforov, CSKA Moscow Valery Minko and Andrei Solomatin of Lokomotiv Moscow sustained various injuries last week.

Sweden have called up Andreas Jakobsson and Yksel Osmanovski for Saturday's qualifier against Luxembourg. Helsingborg's Jakobsson replaces fellow defender Roland Nilsson, who suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung during Coventry City's English premier league clash with Arsenal on Saturday.