Ankles away

Another day, another tale of ankle-knack and a long injury lay-off. Yesterday I reported on Kazenga LuaLua's unlucky break, while today the club have confirmed that Sol Campbell has made his most significant contribution to the season so far by injuring Ryan Taylor in training. With Taylor expected to be resting up in the treatment room for the next 12 weeks, it's imperative that we keep Danny Simpson fit. Our first-choice right-back has been in good form since returning from his own long-term injury - though the murmurs of enthusiasm for an England call-up are rather premature.

Talk of injuries and England call-ups allows me to segue nicely into the latest news on Rocky, who finds himself at the centre of a steadily brewing club v country row. It's emerged that we've emailed Fabio Capello to express our concerns about our current talisman's fitness. No doubt this will be ignored, but it's imperative we have him back and fit for Saturday's visit to worryingly in-form Bolton if we're to get something out of the game.

Not that the BBC's Phil McNulty shares our view on his attributes: "The fact that Carroll's emergence has caused such excitement is not just a response to his performances, but an indicator of the lack of high-class options for England up front". Part of me hopes he proves naysayers like McNulty wrong - just as long as it doesn't come at the price of his fitness or a sudden flurry of interest from the bigger boys at home and abroad...