Hodgson admits fatigue concerns

England manager Roy Hodgson admits he may have to shuffle his pack for Friday’s crunch Euro 2012 Group D clash with Sweden in Kiev.

Hodgson is concerned with the impact of a game every four days on ageing midfielders Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker.

The experienced duo were heavily involved in Monday’s 1-1 draw with France, continually breaking up French attacks with energetic displays.

England began the game as outsiders in the soccer betting so will be glad to have taken a valuable point in their question to reach the quarter-finals.

"I will have to assess the freshness of my team and see whether they are able to do that again," said Hodgson.

"Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard are both over 30 and had to work really hard. I'm not the only coach wondering 'can they do it every four days?'"

Hodgson’s main problem is a lack of quality in central midfield outside the starting 11, with pre-tournament injuries to Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard limiting his options.

Jordan Henderson was a late substitute against France, while James Milner could also play in the middle after starting on the right in Donetsk.

While Hodgson conceded he would need to keep an eye on Parker and Gerrard, he said it would be difficult to leave any player out after an encouraging display in the opener.

"My gut feeling, after a good recovery day on Tuesday, a sensible training day on Wednesday and sensible recovery day on Thursday, is that it will be very hard for me to leave people out," added Hodgson.

"If we said 'we're going to give you a rest because it's too much to play two games in four days', some of them would have us up against the wall."

More positive football scores in England’s remaining group games should see them through. A win against Sweden would leave Hodgson’s side on the brink of the last eight ahead of their final group game against co-hosts Ukraine on June 19.