World Cup scare for Terry and England

England defender John Terry’s hopes of playing in the World Cup hung in the balance Wednesday after the Chelsea defender was rushed to hospital with a suspected fracture in his right foot.

Chelsea said their captain had taken a knock in training ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Portsmouth and “has gone to hospital for a precautionary scan on his right foot”.

It added: “He left Cobham walking freely in a protective boot, and we await the results which are expected on Thursday.”

If a fracture is confirmed, Terry will have no chance of featuring in England’s campaign in South Africa, which kicks off on June 12 against the United States in Rustenburg.

The loss of Terry would be a major blow to England coach Fabio Capello and would compound what has been a tough season for the defender, who was stripped of the national team’s captaincy earlier this year following revelations of an extra-marital affair.

Terry’s form dipped in the aftermath of the scandal and his status as an automatic first-choice for England was seen as being under threat from Ledley King, the Tottenham centreback who finished the season in commanding style and was included in the 30-man provisional squad Capello named on Tuesday.

The national team coach also succeeded in persuading Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher to come out of retirement from international football, providing himself with further cover at centreback.

Nevertheless, the loss of Terry would represent a major blow to the Italian, who is already sweating over the availability of his first-choice holding midfielder, Gareth Barry.

The Manchester City player suffered ankle ligament damage last week and will not be able to resume training until the first week of June at the earliest. A medical on May 24 will decide whether Barry is included in England’s final squad of 23, which has to be submitted to FIFA by June 1.

If Terry is ruled out of the FA Cup final, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will be expected to switch Branislav Ivanovic from right-back to partner Brazilian Alex in the centre of defence with either Juliano Belletti or Paulo Ferreira brought in to plug the gap.