England defender Michael Dawson has been ruled out of Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Switzerland after suffering an injury against Bulgaria. Tottenham say the 26-year-old will be out for six to eight weeks after spraining his left medial knee ligament and a left ankle ligament in the match. It rules him out of at least three Champions League group matches and several Premier League games.
England have decided not to call up a replacement for the game in Basle. That could mean a recall for West Ham defender Matthew Upson alongside Phil Jagielka, though Bolton stopper Gary Cahill acquitted himself well on his international debut after coming off the bench to replace Dawson for the final half an hour against Bulgaria. Cahill was the first Bolton player to represent England since Michael Ricketts in February 2002 while Jagielka was winning only his fifth cap so Capello could choose to use Upson's experience alongside the Everton man in Basle.
The West Ham captain was left out of both the Bulgaria game and last month's friendly victory over Hungary although he played against both Slovenia and Germany in the World Cup finals in the summer. First-choice pairing John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are out of the reckoning with hamstring and knee problems respectively.
Dawson's injury is worrying news for Spurs with the transfer window closed. They kick off their Champions League group away to Werder Bremen on 14 September before entertaining Twente on 29 September and then travelling to Inter Milan on 20 October. If Dawson is out for eight weeks he could also miss the home game with Inter on 2 November, which comes three days after the Premier League trip to Manchester United. Among the other league matches he will be unavailable for are London derbies at West Ham and Fulham and a home game with Everton.
