Lampard says he will be fit to face Russia

Frank Lampard has told Steve McClaren he believes he will be fit to play against Russia in the second of the two forthcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers – on the day the England manager called up Emile Heskey. Lampard is using an oxygen chamber to aid recovery from a thigh strain and will have a scan on Wednesday to assess the damage.

With Peter Crouch suspended for the Israel match on 8 September there is no obvious partner in attack for Michael Owen and Heskey's display for Wigan impressed McClaren at St James' Park on Saturday.

Lampard tore a quad muscle in his thigh doing extra training on Friday afternoon. Having originally been told by Jose Mourinho that Lampard was out of both games, McClaren has been reassured by the player. The potential return of Lampard for the Russia game on 12 September is all the more significant given the hairline fracture to Steven Gerrard's toe which is likely to prevent him from training all this week.

Heskey, 29, is set to start against Israel on Saturday, chiefly because McClaren has lost faith in Alan Smith after uninspiring displays against Brazil and Germany. Jermain Defoe and Andy Johnson are regarded as too similar to Owen.

The Wigan striker has scored one goal this season. "I have to admit it comes as a bit of a surprise to me," he said. "I have always said that I never shut the door on England and always believed in myself I could get another chance.

"Although it has been a long time between call-ups, I am extremely pleased to be back. My only priority is to do well for Wigan and I know it's a cliché but it's true. You need to do well for your club to get a chance for the national side."

Heskey has 43 caps for England and five goals, his last cap coming against France in Euro 2004, when he gave away the free-kick from which Zinedine Zidane scored in his side's last-minute win. Heskey, who lost his place to Wayne Rooney, was called up to play against Northern Ireland in March 2005 but withdrew through injury.

McClaren emphasised Heskey's compatibility with Owen, with whom Sven Goran Eriksson partnered him for the 2002 World Cup. Owen has scored 11 goals in 12 starts with Heskey.

"Emile is a player with a lot of international experience and [he] has played many times with Michael Owen in the past," the England manager said. "He has been in good form for Wigan this season. He played very well against Sunderland recently and I saw him play well against Newcastle. While he has been out of the squad for a few years, I have spoken with Chris Hutchings who has been hugely impressed and I think he deserves to be recalled. We need his experience at this time."

It would now seem that McClaren is determined to play a 4-4-2 formation against Israel, having spoken yesterday about how Owen played at Newcastle with "the big guy, a targetman playing off him". The places on the flanks are likely to go to Joe Cole on the left and Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right; David Bentley is also a contender.

Gerrard's fitness could turn into an awkward situation with Liverpool. "We're not going to take any risks over him, but he wants to play and we want him to play for the two games," McClaren said. "He's making good progress. We will assess him again during the week, but I fully expect him to be available for the two games. We go out of our way to help clubs in certain situations, certainly in friendly games. But these are big games, important games we need to win, and we need our best players available. If it is at all possible they can be available then they should be."

Portsmouth's manager, Harry Redknapp, said Sol Campbell would be withdrawn from the squad. "Sol Campbell's not fit to play for England," he said. "He will report and come back to us in the morning. We have to treat him and try to get him fit. He has a groin injury but it now appears to have gone into his hamstring as well. He definitely won't be fit to play for England, that's for sure."