David James' knee injury threatening Portsmouth keeper's World Cup dream

Fabio Capello is growing increasingly concerned about David James' knee injury that stops the Pompey keeper from playing more than two games in seven days.

James suffered the injury against Birmingham City and was forced to have a pain-killing injection in his knee to face Arsenal the following weekend.

Bone bruising around the knee has forced James to undergo a special training regime and England manager Capello has made it abundantly clear that players who miss training will not be considered for selection.

Portsmouth boss Paul Hart has been forced to rotate his keepers to legislate for the problems and it now seems increasingly likely that Capello will have to call upon another keeper to stand in for James when England go to the World Cup in South Africa next summer.

Although the recurring problems with James' knee are unlikely to threaten his place in the squad, they provide Capello with a massive headache ahead of next summer's showpiece finals. His faith in West Ham's Robert Green and Manchester United's Ben Foster is questionable and its no coincidence that his scouts have been instructed to look at possible alternatives.

Both Green and Foster have been prone to costly errors this season and Capello has continued to raise concerns about the lack of quality in this area. James' problems, though, are not the only concern for Capello, who prepares to name his squad next weekend for the showpiece friendly with Brazil at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Saturday, November 14.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may have hit out angrily with claims that people have it in for Rio Ferdinand, but the defender's erratic form is worrying Capello. The Italian has made his feelings known publicly and is threatening to take drastic action unless Ferdinand's form improves.

That could result in the ultimate humiliation for Ferdinand with Capello weighing up whether or not to axe him in favour of West Ham's Matthew Upson for the game against Brazil.