A raft of withdrawals from England's squad to play Germany in a friendly has placed suspicion on the top club's trying to avoid injury to their star players. As a result of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard not being available FA director of communications Adrian Bevington has played down reports of a rift between England coach Fabio Capello and top Premier League clubs.

Bevington told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Gerrard reported for duty last night (Sunday), was assessed by the medics, scanned this morning.

"It's a legitimate injury and he goes back to his club for treatment.

"Obviously he (Capello) is disappointed that he's losing players. I've spoken personally with both players, they're gutted about it.

"I've spoken with Gary Lewin, our physio, and he has absolutely no issue - he's looked at them both and they go back having been scanned."