Hart out of France match and returns to Man City for treatment

Posted Wednesday, November 17, 2010 by Mirrorfootbal

Joe Hart has been sent back to Manchester City for treatment on the back spasm he suffered during training yesterday ahead of England's friendly with France.

Hart's place will now almost certainly go to Birmingham's Ben Foster, leaving the City man to hope he recovers in time for Sunday's Premier League trip to Fulham.

The 23-year-old has been an ever-present for England since the World Cup, although his name has appeared in the headlines for a couple of ill-advised off-field escapades recently.

It was soon obvious he had a problem yesterday when he went down in agony during a routine goalkeeping session.

Hart was in obvious pain when he left the field and was still struggling to stand up properly when England made their way out of the stadium an hour later.

Fabio Capello hoped the injury would ease during the afternoon but any improvement has not been sufficient for him to be considered this evening and he was sent back to the north-west.

Only 24 hours ago, Hart's understudy with the Blues, Shay Given, spoke of his irritation at hardly getting a game for his club this season and hinted that he may be forced to move on.

Now it seems he could be given an unexpected chance unless Hart makes a rapid recovery.

Meanwhile, Phil Jagielka has remained with the squad, which indicates he could feature against France despite missing training with a virus yesterday.