Terry will have a face mask fitted tomorrow and although Chelsea are talking optimistically of him being back in training next week, it would be a major surprise if he was.

The usual recovery period is six weeks, which, if that were to be the case in this instance, would not only rule Terry out of the Wembley clash with Estonia on October 13 and the potentially pivotal trip to Moscow to face Russia four days later but also the final Group E game against Croatia.

While McClaren will hand the captaincy to Steven Gerrard, a move many pundits feel should have come at the very start of his tenure, the England coach knows Terry's huge presence in his defence will be tough to fill.

With Jamie Carragher retired from England duty, all the alternatives are hazardous.

In an ideal world, McClaren would probably select Jonathan Woodgate.

But the Middlesbrough man is only two matches into his recovery from a groin injury and has suffered so many fitness problems, he cannot be relied upon to be available in a fortnight.

McClaren was at Eastlands this afternoon to watch his current right-back Micah Richards occupy a central defensive role for Manchester City.

Richards has all the attributes required to partner Rio Ferdinand but it will not have escaped McClaren's attention that the 19-year-old was caught the wrong side of Obafemi Martins for Newcastle's goal and any repeat of that in Russia could signal the end of England's hopes of reaching next summer's Finals.

Besides, with Gary Neville still out, McClaren would be creating one problem by solving another by opting for Richards.

Ferdinand's Manchester United team-mate Wes Brown is another candidate but most of his recent action has been in the full-back position Neville has been unable to occupy.

Tottenham's Michael Dawson was not even in the last England squad and while Joleon Lescott was included, it is highly unlikely McClaren would hand someone their England debut on such an important occasion, a situation which also applies to promising Newcastle youngster Steven Taylor.

It now means McClaren is virtually certain to be without two key members of the side which defeated Israel and Russia so comprehensively earlier this month, as striker Emile Heskey has broken his foot.

The return of Wayne Rooney compensates for that injury but uncertainty surrounds the availability of top scorer Michael Owen.

It was thought Owen would definitely miss out after being sent for stomach surgery by Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce.

However, it now appears the groin injury which was set to rule Owen out for three weeks, prompting Allardyce to send him for the operation in the first place, is not quite as bad as the Magpies boss initially feared.

And so, with Owen's operation proving a major success, the 27-year-old could be available for the Estonia encounter.

"Michael has had keyhole surgery to strengthen both sides of his stomach," confirmed Allardyce.

"We don't quite know how long he will be out but the timescale is short, probably a matter of days, and there is a possibility he could be fit for the Everton game.

"He does also have to overcome this adductor muscle tear but it could be very good news for him and us because we need him back."

Initial predictions after he was diagnosed with a weakness in his stomach, which could have led to a hernia, and torn adductor muscle were that he might miss six weeks.

But Allardyce has sought out a surgeon he claims to be among the very best in the world to shorten the timescale dramatically.

"All the speculation that we are neglecting him was rather distasteful as far as I was concerned," he said.

"He is with the best in the world and that is why we are only talking about a few days of recovery.

"I couldn't rule him out of the England games but first we will get the injuries cleared up, then we will make a sensible decision for us and them."