Hargreaves, Lampard ruled out

England will be without Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard for their crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Group E table-toppers Russia in Wembley on Wednesday.

Both players have failed to recover from injury and have returned to their respective clubs, Manchester United and Chelsea, for treatment.

The news means that manager Steve McClaren is likely to field the same central midfield partnership as he did in the 3-0 win over Israel on Saturday, with Liverpool's Steven Gerrard partnering Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry.

Hargreaves suffered a thigh injury in training last Wednesday and was unavailable for the 3-0 home win over Israel. The Manchester United star was thoroughly assessed by the England medical team today and also underwent a scan and a fitness test, but it was decided he would not be sufficiently recovered in time for the game.

Lampard was always a rank outsider to have recovered sufficiently from a thigh injury he sustained in training with Chelsea 10 days ago.

Barry returned to the fold for England at the weekend after a seven year absence from the national side and played a key role in an impressive performance.

Gerrard reported no reaction to playing against Israel with his broken toe and he took a full part in today's training session with the squad.