Frank Lampard is out of the European Championships 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. He suffered a thigh strain in training and the medics could not guarantee that he could play any serious part in the tournament.
His injury follows hot on the heels of Gareth Barry who suffered a groin injury shortly after coming on for England in the recent friendly match against Norway. At the time of writing there is now a doubt over Gary Cahillֳ place in the squad.
Suddenly new manager Mr Hodgson is left without two experienced players as the country goes for another tilt at international glory.
But it is not the first time the nation has suffered an injury jinx either before or during a major championship
Rio Ferdinand
Poor Rio was dropped for Euro 2012 because of Ӧootballing reasonsӠalthough many people feel that internal team politics had more to do with it.
At the last tournament he was due to captain his country at the World Cup. The greatest honour, short of winning it, that an England player can receive during his career.
Then during a training session before the tournament the former England striker Emile Heskey fell on his knee causing knee ligament damage.
Suddenly the captain was on crutches, wearing a ligament knee support and exiting the tournament.
This left the manager, Mr Capello, no choice but to pick Leadley King who had a chronic knee problem. The knee pain he suffered made it difficult for him to play games in quick succession (sort of important in tournament football).
Michael Owen
Englandֳ star striker did play in the 2006 World Cup in Germany before falling victim to a serious knee injury in the group match against Sweden.
He was not tackled and no one fell on his leg he just turned and kicked the ball but his knee buckled underneath him and he fell to the ground in pain.
The former Liverpool forward had ruptured his anterior cruciate knee ligament. It took him over a year to recover and he has continued to have injury problems since that day.
David Beckham
David Beckham played all the matches in the 2002 World Cup and did not suffer the indignity of hobbling on to a plane on crutches.
However, on the 10th April shortly before the tournament he broke the second metatarsal bone in his foot. He did not play for Manchester United again that season.
The tabloid press were so panicked they had pictures of his foot and asked readers to touch it and pray for its swift renewal as he had become the most important player in the team.
He was not fully fit for the tournament.
Bryan Robson
Captain Marvel was the first name on the team sheet for Sir Bobby Robson when he was England manager in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, Robson had an unerring knack of injuring himself as he did in the 1986 World Cup.
In the February before the Mexico world cup he dislocated his shoulder. In the group game against Morocco he dislocated it again and was out of the tournament.
Sir Bobby often said that if Bryan Robson had been fit for the famous game against Argentina England would have won.
Jimmy Greaves
But sometimes one playerֳ injury is another playerֳ opportunity. Jimmy Greaves was the first choice striker for the 1966 World Cup but injured his leg against France.
A certain Geoff Hurst came in as his replacement and we all know what happened next.