And then there was one?

So, Leon Best and Nile Ranger have dropped out of the Republic of Ireland and England U20 squads respectively. Please, please, please let the withdrawals be precautionary. In Best's case, however, that seems unlikely - it's being reported that he's suffering from hamstring-hamstrungness.

With doubts hanging over both players' heads, Big Lad sidelined for the next few weeks, the Xisco Kid back in Spain and Rocky busy getting his feet under the table on Merseyside, that leaves us with one striker: Peter Lovenkrands. 4-5-1 formation for Blackburn on Saturday, anyone?

Equally concerning as the striker situation, arguably, is the fact that Cheik Tiote will be pressed into action for the Ivory Coast against African rivals Mali tonight. At least the game's taking place in France so the trip won't be as long and draining as it might have been, but knowing that Saturday's hero, one of our most precious players, will be involved in a meaningless kickabout has me rather nervous. After Saturday's extraordinary events, might his international teammate Emmanuel Eboue be tempted to play him a hospital ball or two?