England lose Bent for Euro finals

The Aston Villa striker visited a top ankle specialist in London yesterday and his fears were confirmed.

It means he is unlikely to be available until the end of May, with the Euro finals getting under way just over a week later in Poland and the Ukraine.

With Wayne Rooney suspended for the opening two games of the tournament, Bent was likely to play a key role for his country.

He was desperate to play in a major tournament for the first time after being overlooked for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads.

But the setback suffered during Villa’s goalless draw at Wigan in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday looks to have put paid to those hopes.

Villa said in a statement: “Darren Bent has undergone scans and he has seen a top ankle specialist (yesterday) in London.

“He faces up to 12 weeks on the sidelines having ruptured ankle ligaments in his left foot in the game against Wigan and he is unlikely to play again this season.

“Dr Ian McGuinness and the Villa medical staff have been liaising with the England medical team about the extent of his injury.

“Darren will undergo a further examination in seven days to determine the need for an operation.”

Bent’s unfortunate news came as England prepare to face Holland tomorrow at Wembley in their first match since Fabio Capello’s resignation as head coach.

Stuart Pearce is the interim manager and winger James Milner believes he has all the right credentials to lead England into the Euro 2012 finals if chosen by the Football Association board.

Leeds United product Milner has first-hand experience of Pearce’s qualities and was impressed with his preparations from working under him for two European Championship finals as England Under-21 coach.

Pearce will be in charge for tomorow’s friendly international and has indicated he would be willing to lead his country in Poland and Ukraine as Capello’s replacement.

Milner said: “The timing is not as ideal as you would want, changing manager so close to a major tournament, but we will go in as well prepared as we can be.

“If Stuart Pearce is manager the Euros it is not a problem for me. He is a great manager, was a great player, and in the two Under-21 tournaments we were unlucky on both occasions.

“We should have won at least one of them but what I noticed was that in the tournaments I had under him, we went in very well prepared.

“He thinks about every aspect which could come up in a tournament, every eventuality, how we are going to have to play, and how to plan for combating certain teams.

“That’s the most important thing going into a tournament; you want to feel you are ready and that it is not going to be a problem.”

Milner has been touted as a possible captain against the Dutch and FA sources made it clear him appearing before the media yesterday as opposed to today does not rule him out of the equation.

The Manchester City player said: “I think when you grow up as a kid you dream one day you might be England captain.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play in a World Cup so to be captain would be a great honour.

“We have got more than enough leaders in the squad and, whoever is named as captain, they are not going to be there on their own.

“That’s what every successful team needs, more than one leader. One player will wear the armband but you need six, seven, eight leaders to be vocal and lead with their actions.”

Milner was given his debut against Holland by Capello and said: “I’ve got a lot to thank him for. He is someone who had the confidence to give me my England debut and give me a lot of games. He was fantastic for me.

“It was great to work with him and learn what I could from him and I’m sad he has gone.

“He is a top-class manager. We had a good record under him as well, maybe not quite the luck we deserved in the tournaments and maybe things didn’t go our way in the World Cup. Again we have qualified for a major tournament. It is not ideal timing what has gone on since, but we will go into the tournament as prepared as we can.”

One player Capello often overlooked was defender Micah Richards and Milner is delighted to see his City team-mate back in the current squad.

Milner said: “I’m delighted for Micah. He has been outstanding all season. He’s played centre-half, right-back, he is dangerous going forward, he is really strong, good defensively.”

Steven Gerrard is favourite to lead England tomorrow but whether the 31-year-old carries on beyond this summer’s tournament is open to question.

After suffering so many muscular injuries throughout his career, Gerrard has raised the prospect of quitting the international scene in an effort to prolong his club career.