John Terry and Ashley Cole have been ruled out of the World Cup qualifier against Belarus on Wednesday - and back-up goalkeeper Robert Green has also withdrawn from the squad.

Terry, the England captain, was unable to take part in training this morning after failing to recover from the back injury that kept him out of the 5-1 victory over Kazakhstan on Saturday. He had been expected to be fit after spending yesterday in the gym with his physiotherapist where he was able to run on the treadmill for the first time in five days.

However, Fabio Capello, the England manager, has omitted the player after insisting he completed at least one full training session before boarding the plane to Minsk tomorrow. "It's disappointing to lose two very experienced players for the game in Belarus," Capello said. "Unfortunately they have no chance of playing, so it is best they return to Chelsea."

Ashley Cole, who made the mistake that led to the Kazakh goal and was jeered for much of the match, was ruled out after scans confirmed he had picked a hamstring injury at Wembley. Wayne Bridge, Cole's Chelsea team-mate, is likely to take place his place at left back, while Matthew Upson will probably be retained as Terry's replacement at centre-half.

Green withdrew on Monday evening because of soreness in his knee and will not travel with the rest of the squad tomorrow. His withdrawal leaves England with two goalkeepers, David James and Scott Carson, though the West Ham United goalkeeper was third choice of the three and was not even named on the bench for Saturday’s match with Kazakhstan.

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