www.Shearer9.com Shearer survives rigorous health check By Oliver Holt There was a time when all Alan Shearer was ever asked in press conferences was why could he never score for England. That line of questioning has gone for ever. Since he scored against Switzerland in the opening game of the European championship finals, all most people want to know is how long he can keep the run going. Yesterday, though, the subject was something different altogether. The English and Spanish press were desperate to know about Shearer's thigh. Shearer was patience personified. He said that he did not think it was a strain that had brought on the tightness that had forced him to miss training, that it was more likely to be some sort of innocuous knock he had suffered in the win over Holland on Tuesday. No, he said, he had never had an injury like this before, and, no, he did not know if he would aggravate it by playing on with it. He thought that rest was the best policy, together with the ultrasound treatment that he is receiving. It would be his decision whether he played in the quarter-final against Spain today. He would have a fitness test this morning. The attention to detail, though, was understandable. Coming amid doubts about the fitness of Darren Anderton and Tony Adams, the loss of Shearer, who has scored in every game so far and is the tournament's leading marksman, would be a heavy blow for England to absorb before the encounter at Wembley today. Already without Paul Ince, who will probably be replaced by David Platt in central midfield, England can ill-afford any further disruption to a team that had settled into a rhythm, especially against opponents as determined and unyielding as Spain, Gradually, though, fears were soothed as Terry Venables, the England coach, laid a calming hand on tense shoulders. Adams's injury, a problem with scar tissue on his knee, was similar to the one that he faced before the game against Holland, Venables said, and he was able to play in that one. Anderton's problem, too, is thought to be relatively slight, even though it stopped him from training for a second successive day yesterday. Shearer gave nothing away, but the consensus among observers at the England training ground was that it would take more than a thigh strain to make him sit out the game. When the dissection of the injury problems was over, Venables turned his attention to Spain. "They have got a great spirit and they are technically very good," he said. "You do not go 20 games unbeaten by lying down." Shearer warned that nobody should expect any repeat of the free-flowing match with Holland. He forecast a tight, tense game, a war of attrition more like the game against Scotland last Saturday. "I would be very surprised if we were allowed the same kind of freedom we had against the Dutch," Shearer said. "Spain are a very dogged side and they do not give anything away. As long as we give 100 per cent, though, that is all anyone can ask of us." As for signs of encouragement about his prospects of playing today, he gave one last signal that his appetite for scoring has not been dulled by his recent glut. "I have always said that the best feeling in the world is scoring a goal," Shearer said. "Don't tell my missus that, but it is. When that ball hits the back of the net, it is fantastic." Source: The Times June 22 1996 |