Rio Ferdinand will for now remain in the England squad for the opening Euro 2008 qualifiers after scans on a toe injury showed no signs of a fracture.
Centre-back Ferdinand was injured in Manchester United‘s 2-1 win at Watford, but the scan has shown only bruising.
He remains a major doubt for England’s games against Andorra and Macedonia, and will have another scan on Thursay.
If Ferdinand misses out, Tottenham’s Michael Dawson could be given the chance to partner captain John Terry.
A Manchester United spokesman said on Sunday there was bruising to Ferdinand’s toe but “no conclusive evidence of a fracture”.
That may mean that if Ferdinand is sidelined at all, he will not be out for anywhere near as long as would have been the case with a broken metatarsal.