Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have a drink during England training

  PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES  

Thigh scan sees Lampard eased for France start

HAVING already seen Gareth Barry limp out of his Euro 2012 squad through injury, England manager Roy Hodgson will be desperate to see Frank Lampard safely negotiate a scan on a thigh problem on Thursday.

Lampard had been 8-13 to line up for the Three Lions in their opening group game against France on June 11 but was pushed out to 11-8 with BetVictor to start against Les Bleus after the news of his injury emerged on Wednesday.

So, who might benefit?

Phil Jones was brought into the squad for his ability to play as right- back or at centre-half and he might even be pushed into midfield.

He has been moved in to 2-1 from 9-4 to start, while the inclusion of Tottenham's Scott Parker is considered increasingly likely as he was cut from 4-7 to 1-3.

There has also been support for Manchester City's James Milner, who is 7-4 from 5-2.

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson has been put on standby.

Hodgson played a 4-4-2 system in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Norway and it would be considered a surprise if he adopted another tactic for the big opener in Donetsk.

Consequently in many ways it was difficult to see how Parker, Lampard and Steven Gerrard would fit into the two central midfield spots that appear to be up for grabs.

Lampard did not start in Oslo as he was resting along with Ashley Cole, John Terry and Gary Cahill after Chelsea's Champions League exploits.

But even if the scan is clear, there is no guarantee that he will be in the starting line-up a week on Monday.