Phil Jagielka is carried off against Man City 300
PHIL JAGIELKA admits his World Cup dream has been left hanging in the balance by his lengthy recovery from a serious knee injury.
The 27-year-old has been sidelined since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester City in April.
Jagielka was initially expected to begin light training last month, but suffered a setback that required surgery to repair a tear in his cartilage.
The centre-back has revealed it could be another three weeks before he even has an idea when to set a realistic comeback date.
Jagielka has won three England caps under Fabio Capello, the most recent of which came in the World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine at Wembley just three weeks before his injury.
But when asked about his chance of being on the plane to South Africa in the summer, Jagielka said: “I am not sure. I was looking to get back before Christmas and hopefully stake a claim but unfortunately I don’t know when I will be back, so I am not looking at the World Cup at the minute.”
