Manchester United duo Michael Carrick and Danny Welbeck have been ruled out of England's friendlies against Chile and Germany.
Both
players featured in last month's 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over
Poland, but while Welbeck missed United's victory over Arsenal on Sunday with an ongoing knee problem that has kept him out of action since October 19, Carrick played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford with a lingering Achilles injury.
No replacements have been called up, leaving manager Roy Hodgson with 26 men to choose from for the friendly against Chile on Friday, and the visit of the Germans four days later.
England have been forced prepare for the games away from St George's Park due to a suspected stomach virus.
Hodgson's senior squad were due to assemble at the National Football Centre in Burton-upon-Trent on Tuesday, but instead reported to the Grove in Watford before training at Colney, while the U21s were relocated to Milton Keynes ahead of their Euro 2015 qualifiers against Finland and San Marino.
Welbeck's withdrawal means Jay Rodriguez has a good chance of featuring against Chile as Hodgson has already described the uncapped Southampton man as an ideal replacement for the United forward.
Captain Gerrard has been troubled by a hip problem for the last couple of weeks and is expected to play just one of the two matches, while Frank Lampard, who will be awarded a commemorative 100th cap before the Chile game, could skipper the side on Friday night.
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