Lampard to miss England qualifiers; Crouch uncertain

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month while he recovers from hernia surgery.

And Tottenham striker Peter Crouch is a doubt after suffering a rib injury in his club’s 1-0 defeat against Wigan on Saturday.

Lampard was forced off in the second half of Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Stoke at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as a result of the hernia injury and will undergo an operation on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

The 32-year-old is expected to be out for a fortnight, meaning he will be unavailable for the start of England’s bid to reach the Euro 2012 finals.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “It is a very easy surgery but he has started to feel pain and he needs to have the operation.

“We have already spoken with the national team to explain the situation.”

England host Bulgaria at Wembley on September 3 and travel to Switzerland for their second group match on September 7.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp meanwhile fears Crouch may have broken a bone, which would rule him out of Friday’s match against Bulgaria and the game in Switzerland four days later.

Crouch scored a hat-trick in Tottenham’s Champions League play-off round win over Young Boys on Wednesday and was expected to be named in Fabio Capello’s England squad on Sunday.

But the former Liverpool player was withdrawn at half-time against Wigan and Redknapp said: “I think he might have done a rib; he was in agony at half-time.

Asked if the injury would mean Crouch will miss England’s games, Redknapp added: “If he’s broken a rib, he will.”