Sorry Becks, but the real injury worry for England is Aaron Lennon

By Robbie Savage

Published 22:29 18/03/10

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I've got huge sympathy for David Beckham after the injury which has ruled him out of the World Cup finals.

Becks worked so hard to get back into the England set-up and he's done brilliantly to stay there while playing in the equivalent of League Two football.

But honestly, you'd think no-one had ever suffered an injury before by the amount of coverage his Achilles tendon has got.

So far I've heard from four different physios and three doctors, read acres of paper coverage and watched hours of news footage.

With this, the metatarsal in 2002 and those Armani ads, I feel more familiar with Becks' body than I do with my own!

Yet almost no-one is mentioning the injury which will be the most damaging to England's chances - that of Aaron Lennon.

Becks would have made a few cameo appearances in South Africa, but Lennon would have been Capello's starter. His pace would have given the opposition kittens.

But the Spurs winger's nagging groin problem has kept him out since December and even if he does return to training next week, play a couple of games at the end of the season and make the plane, it's a tall order to expect him to be back to his devastating best.

With Beckham gone and Lennon on the brink, the right-hand side is now a major problem for England and the bad news is the left is arguably even worse.

Like Lennon, Ashley Cole could recover in time to make the plane but after breaking his ankle he will find it extremely hard to show why we all think he's the best left-back in the world.

We all know why Wayne Bridge won't be there, and the alternatives in front of the defenders are limited too.

Manchester City's Adam Johnson is getting some attention, but there's no way for Capello to see him on the left as he's kept out by my mate Craig Bellamy. I actually think Johnson will replace Shaun Wright-Phillips as City's starter on the right but lose out to his team-mate for a place on the plane.

Yet the left-hand side is my main concern and I think we can expect England's opponents to mount wave after wave of attacks from their right to capitalise,

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I could never keep up with Jermain Defoe on the pitch so our columns being two pages apart in the Daily Mirror is probably the closest I've ever got to him.

Jermain is often praised for his speed, but I think his courage is under-rated.

It certainly takes a brave man to sign up for Mirror Football when you know yours is always going to be the second-best football column on the website!

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Follow me on Twitter: RobbieSavage8.

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