Central defender John Terry will miss England's next two World Cup qualifiers because of a knee injury that will sideline him for at least four weeks, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said on Tuesday.
The Chelsea captain, who suffered the injury in Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur, will also miss the start of his club's Champions League campaign.
"He will not be ready for Wales (on Saturday), he will not be ready for Northern Ireland (on September 7) and we'll have to see if he will be ready for the October games," Eriksson told a news conference.
"The doctors said they think he's out for at least four weeks."
England's two final qualifiers are at home to Austria on October 8 and Poland on October 12.
In Europe, Terry will almost certainly miss Chelsea's opening group games at home to Anderlecht on Sept 13 and away to holders Liverpool on Sept 28.
Fulham defender Zat Knight has been called into a squad which is now desperately short of central defenders with Terry, Sol Campbell, Ledley King and long-term injured Jonathan Woodgate all unavailable.
England, second in qualifying Group Six two points behind Poland but with a game in hand, play Wales in Cardiff before meeting Northern Ireland in Belfast the following Wednesday.
Terry's absence, a major blow at club level to the champions, gives an opportunity for Liverpool's Jamie Carragher or Matthew Upson of Birmingham City to partner Rio Ferdinand in central defence.
CARRAGHER'S CHANCE
Eriksson has clearly warmed to Carragher after the Liverpool defender capped an excellent season with an outstanding performance in their Champions League final win over AC Milan in May.
"I don't know if it's the Liverpool attitude, to never give up, but he was incredible in the Champions League final," said the Swede.
"I think he had cramp all over and didn't leave the pitch. Fantastic ... there's been a huge improvement over the last few years."
There was better news, though, on the injury front for England over central midfielder Steven Gerrard, who missed Liverpool's Super Cup win over CSKA Moscow on Friday with a calf injury.
Though he trained separately on Tuesday with England physio Gary Lewin, Eriksson said: "Hopefully, he will train with us on Thursday. The physio and the doctor said after the session today they think he will be ready for Saturday."
Captain David Beckham missed the session at Arsenal's training ground at nearby London Colney with a sore foot but will train normally on Wednesday, an FA spokesman said. Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland had a light workout separately at the team hotel.