Duck breaker: Danny Welbeck scored his first international goal to give England the best possible start

Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker completed 90 minutes against Belgium but he did so ‘on memory’ rather than deep resources of energy after his injury problems.

Danny Welbeck scored a super goal on Saturday, crowning a performance that makes him a serious contender for a starting place ahead of Andy Carroll against France.

But is Welbeck capable of playing for 90 minutes after his recent ankle problems? Hodgson said he was taken off after 53 minutes because he ‘didn’t want to push him too hard’.

Throw in the lingering concerns about Terry’s hamstring and  Hodgson must feel he is one injury away from fielding a seriously weakened team, not least because he must also overcome the absence of the banned Wayne Rooney for the opening two matches.

Hodgson agreed that he has been ‘pretty unlucky’, but amid the  medical chaos he said there was still some clarity of thought.

‘I have a team in my head that can do very well against France,’ he said. ‘Whether we can beat them I don’t know. They are 20 games unbeaten and their team takes care of itself. At the moment we are not in that position.

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