Frank Lampard flew back to London from Doha last night after suffering a thigh injury during an England training session and will be examined by Chelsea’s medical staff this morning amid fears that he could face up to a month on the sidelines.

Lampard underwent a scan in Doha yesterday afternoon that revealed a tear to his left thigh. Claims that he could be absent for two months have been played down, with Dr Ian Beasley, of the FA’s medical staff, contacting Dr Bryan English, his Chelsea counterpart, to say that he believed that Lampard could be back in action within three weeks, but further examinations will be carried out by the London club this morning.

The loss of Lampard means that England will be without all but three of Fabio Capello’s first-choice starting line-up for the friendly match against Brazil at the Khalifa International Stadium tomorrow evening, with David James, Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey among those who have succumbed to injury. Capello is also without his three leading right-sided midfield players, with Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon injured and David Beckham involved in the Major League Soccer play-offs with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

However, any injury to Lampard will be more keenly felt by Chelsea, who, although they are five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, can ill afford an extended layoff to their vice-captain, with José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole suffering medium-term injuries in the past week. The priority will be for him to be back for Premier League matches against Arsenal on November 30 and Manchester City on December 5.

In Lampard’s absence, Michael Carrick is expected to play alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield against Brazil, with Robert Green, Wes Brown, Matthew Upson, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, James Milner and Peter Crouch also figuring in a makeshift line-up.