England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted his side misses John Terry’s presence in the squad.
The Chelsea captain was an integral figure for the Three Lions before announcing his retirement from international football in 2012 due to his feud with Anton Ferdinand.
Since then, according to Hodgson, England has lacked a strong character and the quality of Terry on the left side of the central defense.
Speaking to the media, the former Fulham and Liverpool manager was of the belief the player’s absence is being felt in the team.
“Yes, who knows? Because he retired so long ago he doesn’t feature in my thinking too often but I can’t deny that is a valid point. He is a left-sided centre-half.
“There are, in my opinion, no left-sided centre-backs who are English and playing in the Premier League who are at least at the level of the ones we are choosing. That’s a fact of life and there is not much we can do about it.
“We haven’t got the left-sided one but there is nothing I can do about that unless suddenly in the next five weeks some brilliant English left-sided centre-back appears on the scene, and I don’t anticipate that.”
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