RIO DE JANEIRO, June 23 — Leighton Baines and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss England’s final World Cup game against Costa Rica on Wednesday due to injury, manager Roy Hodgson revealed today.
Everton left-back Baines has injured his hamstring, while Arsenal midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered a recurrence of the knee problem that forced him to miss England’s 2-1 losses to Italy and Uruguay.
Baines’s absence means that 18-year-old Southampton defender Luke Shaw is likely to come into the team at left-back.
Hodgson has pledged to use the game in Belo Horizonte to give playing time to players who have not yet featured in Brazil.
While surprise package Costa Rica require a point to secure top spot in Group D, England have nothing to play for after being condemned to their earliest World Cup exit since 1958. — AFP
