England's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ruled out for 2-3 weeks due to a knee injury

Oxlade-Chamberlain during the friendly vs Ecuador

England have suffered a blow before the beginning of their World Cup campaign after winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up a knee injury in the friendly against Ecuador last night.

Initial fears were that the Arsenal winger had sustained ligament damage in his right knee but scans have shown that he will be out for a period of 10 days to 3 weeks.

Oxlade-Chamberlain showed flashes of brilliance in the match before a challenge by Ecuador’s Carlos Gruezo resulted in his injury. He looked in clear discomfort as he left the stadium.

When asked after the game as to who might replace him, Hodgson said, “When I have to cross that bridge, I’ll do that. At the moment I don’t know the extent of the injury. My hope is that Oxlade-Chamberlain will not be seriously injured. He did ever so well and looked really sharp. It would be an enormous blow if we were to lose him, so I’d prefer to concentrate on the satisfaction and positivity I can take from the game.”

Roy Hodgson can call up a replacement if Oxlade-Chamberlain is declared unfit. Probable players who can currently replace him from the standby list are Manchester United’s Michael Carrick or Tom Cleverley while John Stones who is with the team in Miami can be asked to stay on.