Soccer: Cole injury opens door for Bridge

Wayne Bridge has been warned by the Fabio Capello camp that if he does not turn up for England's friendly against Egypt next month because of the John Terry scandal then he will be left out of the World Cup squad - despite the latest injury to Ashley Cole.

Capello was hit with his first major pre-World Cup injury crisis when Cole was ruled out for up to four months with a fractured ankle, which puts his participation in the June tournament in real danger.

The 29-year-old will struggle to be fit in time for the announcement of the squad in late May, a severe blow for the England manager.

It puts even more pressure on the second-choice left-back Bridge not to quit international football, in spite of his anger at Terry's alleged affair with his ex-fiancée Vanessa Perroncel.

The Capello camp has said in private that it considers the matter closed now that Terry has been stripped of the captaincy and it expects Bridge to join up with the squad as usual for the friendly next month.

Indications are he will do that, with some reports suggesting he had already told Capello he will front.

But should Bridge decide that he cannot face sharing the same hotel and dressing room as his former friend Terry, then Capello will bring the curtain down on the player's international career.

With only one friendly before the squad has to be named, he has no intention of giving the Manchester City left-back the game off on March 3.

The injury to Cole will certainly change Bridge's thinking; it has at last given him the chance to step out from the shadow of the man who took his place in the Chelsea team.

Capello has not spoken to Bridge since the scandal broke and he has no intention of doing so. Barring injury, it seems inevitable that Bridge, 29, will be selected in the squad for the Egypt game.

Awkward will not do justice to the scene when Terry and Bridge walk out in front of the television cameras at Arsenal's London Colney training ground for the first time.

It would be even more awkward than the sight of Sepp Blatter giving his verdict on the Terry affair.

The Fifa president said Terry would have been applauded in some countries rather than sacked as national team captain for having an affair.

"Listen, this is a special approach in the Anglo-Saxon countries," Blatter said. "If this had happened in let's say Latin countries then I think he would have been applauded."

- INDEPENDENT