Capello insists Jagielka is fit to face Spain

Phil Jagielka has told England boss Fabio Capello that he is ready to play against Spain despite a broken toe.

The Everton midfielder was believed to have needed a painkilling injection to play against Newcastle in the English Premier League on Saturday.

However, the England international trained on Friday without any problems and told his manager that he was fit to face the world and European champions in the international friendly.

“I spoke with him and asked him, and he said he was ready, he’s okay. He said: ‘If you decide, I’m ready to play’,” Capello said.

“He trained normally without an injection. He will decide whether he takes an injection. He will decide.”

“The player told me, yes. Two things: before deciding about a player, I always speak with the doctors.”

“I ask the doctor whether they can play or not. He says he can. Then I speak always with the player. You can play? You are 100 percent? Not 90 percent, but 100 percent? You are ready? He said yes.”

“After that I decided to put the players on the pitch. I will decide, but I asked the player to be clear. The player said: ‘Yes, I want to play’. I didn’t say: ‘You must play’. That’s a big difference. Okay, clear? We need to be clear.”

Meanwhile, Frank Lampard believes preventing Spain’s Xavi and Andres Iniesta dominating the clash will be England’s toughest obstacle.

Lampard has seen a return to form this season with a series of impressive performances and goals for Chelsea.

The 33-year-old will replace John Terry as captain in the weekend’s game and believes Xavi is his side’s biggest threat.

“It’s hard to pick one, but if I had to I’d go with Xavi, given what he’s done over such a period of time,” Lampard said.

“Andres Iniesta is a fantastic player and to compare and split them up is impossible, but Xavi is the centre of their team. He’s the pinnacle of their team. He moves the ball.”

“I’ve played against him countless times coming through the ranks and over the years. His ability and his awareness and his touch are something special.”

“He’s one of the all-time greats and, in the last couple of years, he’s secured himself up there.”

The Chelsea star believes that his side must approach the game with confidence and not feel intimidated by Spain’s plethora of superstars.

“You have to believe in yourselves and see their weaknesses. We have to win the ball back from them and get our front men away and use the pace in our team,” he said.

“I watched them play Scotland and they pretty much dominated, but Scotland created chances against them now and again. With the ability we have in our team, on the counter-attack and in our own play. We must be bold, we have to stand up.”

“It’s a case of having to close them down as well as you can, don’t let them [Xavi and Iniesta] dominate games as Spain and Barcelona do so often. Get tight to them. It’s probably the most difficult job in football at the minute.”

“We’d seen them play a lot of teams who’d try to play their style against them, which is impossible. They’re the best at it. They’d try to press them right up the pitch and win the ball back.”