WHAT was already a tense and testing week for Sven-Göran Eriksson grew in complexity yesterday when he lost Ashley Cole to a stress fracture in his right foot — a significant blow, given the magnitude of the forthcoming matches, the lack of an established deputy and the fact that Gary Neville is missing at right back.

As the England squad gathered in Manchester before what Eriksson described as “huge, extremely important” World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Poland, the head coach was considering whether to pick Kieran Richardson, Phil Neville or Jamie Carragher as a replacement for Cole, whom he rates as the best left back in the world.

Eriksson must have been harbouring serious concerns about the other flank, where Luke Young looked shaky during the 1-0 defeat by Northern Ireland last month. Phil Neville or Carragher would be far more reliable, even though neither plays regularly at full back in the Barclays Premiership.

Richardson, who has impressed in defence for Manchester United, would be the bold choice to fill in for Cole, who will be sidelined for a month. Mysteriously, the Arsenal full back did not report any injury after the victory over Birmingham City on Sunday and headed out to two nightclubs to celebrate Jermain Defoe’s birthday. Stephen Warnock, the uncapped Liverpool defender, has been drafted in as cover.

Eriksson can call on most of his first XI for two matches that England must win to be sure of automatic qualification for next summer’s finals in Germany, but he will be deprived of the suspended Wayne Rooney for the first match, against Austria on Saturday. He must also wait until today at the earliest to greet David Beckham, his captain, who has stayed in Madrid because his middle son, Romeo, is unwell.

The three-year-old was kept in hospital last night for tests after suffering a third bout of convulsions and Beckham asked to stay with his family. He is scheduled to fly to England this afternoon and start training tomorrow. Michael Owen’s continued recovery from a dead leg will also prevent him from joining a full practice session until tomorrow.

Eriksson needs Beckham and Owen to be available because he already has enough selection issues. The absence of both senior full backs is unwelcome, but the Swede has a surfeit of top-quality centre halves. “Finally we have the problem which we talked about for a long time,” Eriksson said, referring to the availability of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Sol Campbell. On form, Terry has to be regarded as the most secure. Ferdinand should be concerned, given his sloppy performances, but the suspicion is that he will survive the axe.

“That’s a big decision I have to make, but I am here to do that job,” Eriksson said. His claim that Ferdinand was “playing well” was met with raised eyebrows. Campbell has played only five matches since returning from injury, which may prove a convenient excuse for leaving him out.

They are not decisions that Eriksson can afford to get wrong. Although England have the safety net of the play-offs, they will be anxious to avoid that lottery. “We are playing for a ticket to the World Cup and that is not a little thing,” Eriksson said. “For England not to reach the World Cup would be a disaster.”

The pressure is self-inflicted because England should never have lost to Northern Ireland, one of the most embarrassing competitive defeats in the history of the national team. “I have seen it by two different cameras now and it has not been any better,” Eriksson said.

He added that he would not be showing the tape to his players. “I think we need to look forward, not back,” he said. “It’s been a very long time, even if it has only been 3½ weeks since (Belfast).”

He has promised to abandon the five-man midfield, reverting to the more familiar 4-4-2, and there is an expectation that Peter Crouch will line up alongside Owen in the absence of Rooney. The only time they have played together, against Colombia in the United States in May, Owen finished with a hat-trick, so the Newcastle United forward is happy to resume that partnership.

“I played alongside Crouch in America and he’s a great player, fantastic on the floor as well as in the air,” he said. “He’s certainly effective and up to international standard. He is someone with a different style (to Rooney) but you just have to adapt to that.”

The side that Eriksson eventually selects should be capable of beating an Austria team who have nothing to play for and three caretaker managers.

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