The Premiership takes a break this weekend as the football focus is shifted towards the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Click here for all games & betting.

England captain John Terry has declared himself fit to play in Wednesday’s Group E European championship qualifier against Russia.

Terry, who missed England’s 3-0 win over Estonia at Wembley last Saturday with a knee problem, told a news conference: “I am fully fit but I will have to have an operation in the near future to remove a bit of floating bone.”

England coach Steve McClaren, whose team will qualify for the finals in Switzerland and Austria if they beat Russia, confirmed that the Chelsea defender would start Wednesday’s game.

“If John Terry says he is fit then he is fit. I trust him. He is my captain and if he’s fit he plays,” McClaren said.

Looking ahead to the match at the Luzhniki Stadium, McClaren said: “I am delighted to be in this position where it is all on Russia to have to win the game.

“We expect them to come storming at us for the first 20 minutes or so and we are determined to defend it right and to keep a clean sheet.

“You do not qualify for major tournaments in March or April, you qualify over the last few games in October or November and I always thought it would come down to this.

“It will be a very big test for everybody but I am confident we have the players to go out and complete the job.”


The Premiership takes a break this weekend as the football focus is shifted towards the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Click here for all games & betting.