Injured Terry ruled out of England match

England defender John Terry will miss Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine because of an ankle injury.

The 31-year-old was ruled out of the Group H tie at Wembley after failing to recover from the injury he suffered in Friday’s 5-0 win in Moldova.

He was optimistic of playing after receiving treatment, but the Football Association announced on Sunday that Terry would not be fit in time to play.

His Chelsea team-mate Ashley Cole is also unavailable with an ankle injury.

An FA spokesperson confirmed: “Following further treatment from the England medical staff on Sunday, John Terry will not be available for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday.

“Terry suffered an ankle injury in the game with Moldova, and has returned to his club.”

England manager Roy Hodgson has defenders Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill available as cover for the absent Terry, while Leighton Baines, who scored England’s fifth goal against Moldova with a deflected free-kick, will continue at left-back.

Cahill is likely to replace Terry and partner Joleon Lescott at centre-back in the second qualifying match of the campaign.

It would be Cahill’s first appearance at Wembley since he suffered the broken jaw against Belgium which ruled him out of Euro 2012.

Midfielder James Milner believes England have the strength in depth in the squad to cope with Terry’s absence and said: “It is not going to weaken the team in any way, obviously JT (Terry) is a top player and will be tough to replace but we have got a number of top candidates who can step in.

“He is a top player and we all know that and he performed well the other night and unfortunately picked up an injury.

“But I think that you can see with the strength of the squad and the players we do have, we are fortunate we have got a number of options who can step in there Jags (Phil Jagielka), (Gary) Cahill or a number of other ways the manager could go.”

England beat Ukraine 1-0 at Euro 2012 to qualify for the last eight after the tournament joint hosts appeared to have a legitimate goal ruled out when the ball appeared to cross the line before it was cleared by Terry.

Ukraine have yet to start their 2014 World Cup qualification campaign after being without a fixture on Friday.

Tickets are still available for Tuesday’s match at Wembley.