Frank Lampard has no plans to bring the curtain down on his international career as he faces the prospect of missing out on Euro 2012.
Chelsea midfielder has no plans to turn his back on England
Frank Lampard has no plans to bring the curtain down on his international career as he faces the prospect of missing out on Euro 2012.
The England midfielder will be sent for a scan on Thursday on the thigh injury he sustained in training on Wednesday which threatens to wreck his summer plans.
Lampard's problem is serious enough for the Football Association to have alerted Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson that he could be required to join Roy Hodgson's party from his position on the standby list.
The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder has been an integral member of the international side for the past decade and his absence at Poland and Ukraine this summer would be keenly felt.
But, speaking prior to suffering his injury setback, Lampard admitted that while he accepts the clocking his ticking, he has no plans to turn his back on the Three Lions.
No fool
He told reporters: "I don't see myself retiring from international football in the near future, so I wouldn't call this my last tournament necessarily.
"But I'm no fool and I know that age is a factor.
"I will take this as potentially one of my last chances. In the Champions League I had that same mind-set."
Lampard believes Hodgson can still guide England to glory this summer despite only having taken over in the weeks preceding the tournament, and points to the example of the impact made by Roberto Di Matteo with Chelsea in a short space of time.
"It's certainly possible to create something very quickly," he said. "There's no magic formula in football. You can have the right preparation and the surroundings for a tournament.
Man-management
"But in my opinion man-management is of the utmost importance in top football these days. When you've got a very good squad of players, of course there's training and tactics and stuff which are important. But the man-management issue at Chelsea was the huge thing.
"Robbie took players aside and talked to them and made them feel confident. He brought the best out of them, and when you can do that you've got a chance. If England can do that as a group then I still think we've got a great chance."
And Lampard revealed how Hodgson took the time to congratulate the England players in the Chelsea squad immediately after their UEFA Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena earlier this month.
"I wouldn't want to divulge details of the conversation," said Lampard. "But he came in the dressing room to say well done and that he was looking forward to seeing us next week.
"It was very much a "Well done and congratulations", which we appreciated from the new England manager. But he didn't have to do that."
