Almost inevitably, there was collateral damage as the Premier League’s top four went head-to-head on what was termed Grand Slam Sunday, but Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney reported for England duty last night, despite having required treatment on hip and knee injuries respectively after their contributions to victories for Chelsea and Manchester United.

Lampard is considered a doubtful participant for England’s friendly match against France in Paris on Wednesday, having suffered a hip injury during Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, but he informed his club that he at least wanted to report for duty. Similarly, Rooney persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson and United’s medical staff that he was fit enough to head for the England team hotel in Hertfordshire last night, despite having suffered a blow to his knee in the closing stages of his club’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool.

There will be some who will call it the Fabio Capello effect, the new manager having instilled a sense of fear at the repercussions of pulling out of the squad, but Lampard, in particular, has obvious reasons to wish to impress the Italian. Injury forced the Chelsea midfield player to miss Capello’s first game in charge, the 2-1 friendly victory over Switzerland last month, and, with questions being asked about his prospects under the new regime, his desire to prove his fitness is no surprise, even if the indications last night were that he may struggle to train at London Colney today and to be passed fit to travel to Paris tomorrow.

Capello’s predecessors, most recently Steve McClaren, have been frustrated by large numbers of absentees for friendly matches, but, of the 23 players who were named in the final squad on Saturday evening, only two have withdrawn. With Scott Carson and Chris Kirkland, the two young goalkeepers, both pulling out with injuries, Paul Robinson and Robert Green have been drafted into the squad, with Robinson likely to be regarded as David James’s deputy in Paris. Previously, Matthew Upson, the West Ham United defender, had been forced to rule himself out of contention, having been named in Capello’s original 30-man squad on Wednesday.

Much of the attention in Paris is likely to fall on David Beckham, who could become only the fifth England player to win 100 caps. The inclusion in the squad of the Los Angeles Galaxy midfield player has come as a surprise to some, given that he has not played a competitive match since November, but Capello denies that the 32-year-old’s call-up is based on sentiment or commercial considerations.

“It’s not my style to call someone up to do them a favour,” Capello said. “I will call players in that I believe are useful to the team and with a view on future games. I called him [Beckham] up because I believe he is going to be useful to the team.”

Beckham reportedly told passengers on his flight to London from Los Angeles yesterday that he is “disappointed not to be playing”, although he could still reach his century of caps by coming off the bench.

Capello has also to decide on his captain and is eager to explore the claims of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, having seemingly decided against Steven Gerrard. “I have two or three ideas,” he said. “I’ve already said that the permanent captain will be decided before the World Cup qualifiers.”

Bacary Sagna, the Arsenal defender, has pulled out of the France squad after injuring an ankle in his side’s defeat at Chelsea yesterday.

England squad

Goalkeepers: D James (Portsmouth), P Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), R Green (West Ham United). Defenders: W Bridge (Chelsea), W Brown (Manchester United), A Cole (Chelsea), R Ferdinand (Man United), G Johnson (Portsmouth), J Lescott (Everton), J Terry (Chelsea), J Woodgate (Tottenham). Midfield players: S Gerrard (Liverpool), G Barry (Aston Villa), O Hargreaves (Man United), J Cole (Chelsea), D Bentley (Blackburn Rovers), F Lampard (Chelsea), D Beckham (LA Galaxy), S Downing (Middlesbrough). Forwards: M Owen (Newcastle United), W Rooney (Man United), P Crouch (Liverpool), T Walcott (Arsenal).

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