Frank Lampard is expected to be fit for England's World Cup quarter-final showdown with Portugal after concerns over a late injury scare eased Friday. The 28-year-old Chelsea midfielder twisted an ankle in training on Thursday and was reported to be an injury worry ahead of England's meeting with the Portuguese in Gelsenkirchen.
But an FA spokesman said Lampard was expected to take a full part in training later Friday, indicating that he was likely to play. Lampard has struggled for form during the tournament, but coach Sven-Goran Eriksson regards him as a key member of the England line-up especially for his goal-scoring abilities.
Voted second best player in the world this year behind Ronaldinho, Lampard has vowed to rediscover his touch in front of goal.
"The goals are just not going in for me, chances which I would normally eat up," he said after the Ecuador game during which he missed a sitter after being set up by Wayne Rooney. "Unfortunately it's the World Cup and I've now gone four games without a goal although they're going in during training.
"That's not unusual for a midfield player but with the standards I have set I expect to score."