On Saturday night, Hodgson seemed to be reflecting on his first two games with some  satisfaction. Two 1-0 wins is an encouraging start and the kind of return that should give both the  manager and his players confidence ahead of the European Championship.

There remains plenty of room for improvement. England have at times been poor in possession and still lack fluency going forward. But, as Belgium’s Vincent Kompany observed, they are making themselves difficult to beat.

For Hodgson, however, such strength and resolve is being undermined by the kind of setbacks  England are suffering with almost freakish frequency. Gary Cahill has joined an ever-growing list of injured players that just adds to the sense that this is a particularly fragile national team.

As Hodgson said on Saturday it is ‘the quality of the player’ he keeps losing, and while that only highlights the obvious issue with selecting Martin Kelly ahead of Ferdinand, it is alarmingly true.

It might not be such a concern if those who remain standing are fighting fit, but they aren’t.

« Previous12345678910Next »