Southgate Injury Opens Euro 2004 Door for Brown
By Chris O'Brien
April 7 2004
Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate has picked up an injury which could see the centre-half be out of action for a number of weeks. His injury could open the door for United defender Wes Brown to be included in Sven Goran-Eriksson's England squad for the European Championships in Portugal.
| Southgate Injury Opens Euro 2004 Door for Brown |
| Middlesbrough and former United target
Gareth Southgate has sustained a knee injury that will seriously dent his
hopes of being included in England's European Championship squad. The injury
required Southgate to undergo a scan in a local hospital, and although the
results are yet to be confirmed, it is thought that the League Cup winner
could miss a number of weeks as the season reached its climax. The defender has been impressive throughout this season, which prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to show interest in signing him during the January transfer window, and Southgate was widely tipped to be named in England's squad for the tournament finals held in Portugal. However any prolonged absence at this stage in the season, which could see Southgate miss a number of first-team games, could tempt England boss Sven Goran-Eriksson to look elsewhere for a centre-half to add to his squad. This, in addition to Rio Ferdinand's suspension, could leave the door open for United defender Wes Brown, who has shown incredible levels of improvements in recent weeks. Schoolboy style defending was on show from Brown several weeks ago, as United's league form slumped, but the 24-year-old has been in excellent form recently and shone at the back as United beat Arsenal 1-0 in Saturday's F.A Cup final at Villa Park. In just a matter of weeks Wes Brown has gone from a scapegoat to blame for United's demise, to a hero praised for a series of sold displays at the heart of the Red Devils defence. He has shrugged off a number of niggling injures to earn the praise from a number of fellow team-mates, including skipper Roy Keane, and other professionals in the game. Top football pundit Alan Hansen believes that Brown is a must for Eriksson's European squad. "Wes Brown has everything a top centre-half needs - pace, strength in the air and he is a good tackler," said the Scotsman. "On top of that, he has an acute positional sense and he's good on the ball. "He has been absolutely outstanding in the two games against Arsenal and he has to go to Euro 2004." Brown was not involved in the England squad that lost, in typical Sven Goran-Eriksson friendly fashion, 1-0 to Sweden. The national team have two further friendlies to play before the final squad decision has to be reached, and Brown will almost certainly be included in at least one of these matches as Eriksson assesses the chances of his fringe players, as they aim to book their summers in Portugal. |