Ashley Cole Breaks Ankle: Will Wayne Bridge Play with JT for England?

You couldn’t make it up.

Just as it seems that the John Terry saga had been put to rest, events unfold that will cast it firmly back into the spotlight.

Ashley Cole’s broken ankle will see him in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup this summer. Who is England’s No. 2 left-back? None other than Wayne Bridge, the man at the centre of the John Terry scandal and who has previously been quoted as saying that he won’t join up with an England squad containing Terry.

If Cole fails to recover from the break in time, not only will England be losing one of the best left-backs in the business, but the side will be placed under the microscope in a way they didn’t want at all. The Terry/Bridge story could dominate the media’s coverage in the build-up to the tournament, forcing attention away from the football.

There are other options, of course. Leighton Baines of Everton, Man City’s Joleon Lescott, and Villa’s Stephen Warnock are all in contention to be on the plane to South Africa. However, Bridge is undoubtedly Capello’s preferred option, having been in most of his squads when fit.

The World Cup isn’t the immediate problem, though. England play Egypt at Wembley in March, at which point Capello will be forced into a very unpleasant decision as to whether to call Bridge up.

Who knows what will happen with Bridge and Terry in the same dressing room with the wounds so fresh?

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