Barry´s World Cup fate in balance after ankle injury

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry faces a nervous wait to see if he makes England’s World Cup squad after being ruled out for four weeks by an ankle injury.

Barry limped out of Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham, which ended City’s bid to qualify for the Champions League, and his club boss Roberto Mancini confirmed on Friday that the former Aston Villa star will need up to a month to recover.

“I don’t know exactly how bad, maybe three to four weeks, so I hope he can still go. He deserves to play in the World Cup,” Mancini said.

Barry may be fit by the time of England’s first match in South Africa is on June 12 against the United States in Rustenburg, but he will definitely be absent from the friendlies against Mexico and Japan, which cover two training camps in Austria.

Barry has been a regular member of Capello’s first-choice line-up, alongside Frank Lampard in central midfield, and is likely to be named in the 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup, which will be revealed on Tuesday, even though he is not fit.

Capello will then need to assess the player’s recovery before finalising his 23-man party on June 1.