Lampard has been ruled out of Saturday's encounter with Israel because of a thigh muscle tear.

He has returned to his club, Chelsea, for treatment - and McClaren today revealed he has not given up hope of having the midfielder available for next Wednesday's match at Wembley.

He told a press conference today: "Frank came and joined us last night, we looked at the scans and have liaised with Chelsea.

"He's gone back there for rehab - the injury is not as serious as we first thought, although hopefully we'll assess him on Saturday.

"He may be 50-50 for next week - and Chelsea are giving him every chance of being available for us."

McClaren admitted he had not made a decision on who to pick in goal after Paul Robinson's mistake in the friendly against Germany last month.

He added on Sky Sports News: "No that decision will be made later on in the week - we're looking at it. I was pleased with their reaction over the weekend.

"We want training to be competitive - there's competition for places."

McClaren was optimistic about the fitness of another midfielder, Steven Gerrard.

The Liverpool captain has played only once since breaking a toe against Toulouse three weeks ago and Reds boss Rafael Benitez has expressed doubt as to whether Gerrard will be fit for both games.

But McClaren continued: "All being well Stevie will be available on Saturday.

"I want him to play, the team do, the fans do and so does the whole country.

"We need big players and Stevie is one for us.

"We're assessing it day by day. He's getting better and hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a better idea."

McClaren added: "Looking round the room I'm very pleased with what I've got.

"I said to them (the players) 'no excuses - we've got enough to win these games so let's go out and do it'."

The former Middlesbrough boss said he was pleased to have Emile Heskey involved in the international frame again.

He added: "It's good to see him again - he's shown a good attitude at the start of the season for Wigan.

"He's a little bit different and gives us another option in the striking area.

"This is a big week in training - not just at the end when there's a game.

"But everyone who saw training this morning will see there was a good attitude and a lot of quality out there."