England’s medical staff will assess the state of Gareth Barry’s ankle injury on Tuesday ahead of Capello making a decision on whether he will be able to be included in the squad for South Africa.

Barry had been thought to have been ruled out by the injury, sustained on the 5th of May when his club Manchester City played Tottenham. Capello included him in the preliminary squad in the hope he could complete his rehabilitation in time for the 2010 World Cup. Capello has been clear that he will not take any players who will not be fit for the opening game against the USA, and he repeated this – stating that if Barry is not fit he will be going home. He also reiterated how much he hopes that the recovery takes place in time. “Barry is one of the players we want to be fit,” the Italian England manager said.

29 year old Gareth Barry will undergo testing by specialists and England doctors tomorrow and the results will be eagerly awaited by Capello and the rest of the squad. England beat Mexico in a warm up friendly last night 3-1 at Wembley, though obviously Barry was not on the pitch.

If Barry is not fit, FIFA rules do state that an injured player can be replaced up to 24 hours before a match once the final 23 have been named, so it is possible Capello will use this to include Barry later on. In place of Barry, he has options using players like James Milner or Tom Huddlestone, but whether or not Gareth Barry can play may have a big impact on the strategies and formations the manager will use in the competition.