Richards unfazed by England injuries

Updated 10.33 Thu Sep 06 2007
Keywords: Steve McClaren, Euro 2008, Micah Richards, England, sport, football

Micah Richards believes England can overcome the loss of key players for their back-to-back Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia and pick up six points at Wembley.

The likes of Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have already been ruled out of the crucial double-header while there are doubts over the fitness of midfield duo Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves.

"We've got a few injuries but there is still enough quality in the squad here to win the two games" - Micah Richards

Steve McClaren's men resume their bid to qualify for next summer's European Championship finals in Austria and Switzerland three points behind Croatia and israel at the top of Group E.

And despite all the injury problems ahead of Saturday's clash with Israel, 19-year-old Manchester City defender Richards is unfazed by the absences.

He said: "We've got a few injuries but there is still enough quality in the squad here to win the two games. There are proven people here and also good people have come into the squad like David Bentley, Ashley Young and Joleon Lescott.

"They can come in and do a good job if required. But we must remember Israel are a good footballing side. They get stuck in as well. They don't make it easy for you to play. They make it very hard for you to play."

Richards added: "Some people underestimate them. They have a few points in the group but, with the backing of 85,000 of our fans, we are confident if we perform to our ability."

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