London  - England midfielder Steven Gerrard was ruled out of Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Belarus on Tuesday.

The Liverpool captain suffered a groin injury during Saturday's 1-0 defeat in Ukraine, and was unable to train on Tuesday.

"He didn't finish training because the pain was the same as on Monday," said England manager Fabio Capello. "He's going back to Liverpool."

Goalkeeper David James is also a doubt after missing Tuesday's training session.

"He had some problems with his knee," said Capello. "He's getting better, he'll stay with us and on Wednesday we'll decide.

"The other players are fit. There are some little problems but not so big to be a problem."(dpa)