TheSportsCampus

Roy Hodgson's first tournament in-charge of the Three Lions is turning into a nightmare for the Englishman. Having already been forced to replace Manchester City stalwart Gareth Barry due to injury just a few days ago, Hodgson's England squad was rocked further with the news that Chelsea superstar Frank Lampard has been ruled out of the Euros as well.

Lampard pulled his thigh while training with the team on Wednesday and has since undergone a scan and medical examination by the club's medical staff. Doctors have revealed that the 34-year old Champions League winner will be unable to feature in the competition and Hodgson has had to call up Liverpool's Jordan Henderson to replace the Chelsea veteran in midfield.

England manager Roy Hodgson had this to say about the unfortunate situation, "It's a huge blow for the team, especially coming after the loss of another senior player in Gareth Barry. The fact that the doctor cannot guarantee Frank could take part in any of the group matches means we have to replace him in the central midfield area. Apart from it being a huge blow to me and the team, I'm especially disappointed for Frank himself. He has been in very good form and was looking forward to the tournament. He made a huge contribution towards us qualifying for the Euros so it is cruel to be forced out through injury just before the tournament."

England's woes are compounding as they have already lost two experienced players a week before the competition kicks off. With Rooney also missing England's first two group stage games, these injuries could prove to be very costly for England and their chances to progress far in the tournament. All hopes now rest on super skipper Steven Gerrard, and one hopes that he and Scott Parker, both of whom are a bit injury prone themselves can survive the early stages of the competition.

England face Belgium in their last pre-Euros friendly on Saturday, and will be praying that they can come through that game without any additional injury concerns.