MIDDLESBROUGH skipper Gareth Southgate last night accepted that his battle to be fit for this summer's European Championships is likely to end in failure.

Southgate will learn his fate this afternoon when England boss Sven Goran Eriksson names his provisional 23-man squad for next month's tournament in Portugal.

The 33-year-old centre-half had looked certain to make the cut when Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of the competition following his failure to attend a drugs test last year.

But Southgate, who has 57 England caps to his name, damaged his knee ligaments in training last month and has since undergone an intensive recovery programme in an attempt to regain his fitness.

He has not played since making a substitute appearance for England in their 1-0 friendly defeat to Sweden in March and, while he is expected to be fully fit by the time Eriksson's side play their Euro 2004 opener against France on June 13, that looks like being too late.

Eriksson wants his squad to be available for the friendly tournament with Iceland and Japan at the start of June and, with those games almost certainly coming too soon for Southgate, the Boro defender has all but accepted his fate.

"My chances of making Euro 2004 depend on the manager," admitted the former Aston Villa star, who made his England debut against Portugal in 1995. "I'm just waiting to find out really.

"All along I have said that I am confident that I would be fit for the start of the tournament. It's just a matter of at what point he wants me to be in full training with the team.

"There would be a point I could push it further but, if I don't need to, I don't want to push it any faster than I have to.

"It would be fantastic for anyone to be involved in Euro 2004 and, obviously, as you get older you appreciate the opportunities more. But I'm very relaxed about it.

"I would love to go, but if I don't make it I will wish them all the best and I'll have a summer of rest to make sure I am fully fit for the start of next season."

Southgate's experience would be a big loss to Eriksson as he prepares his side for a Group B campaign that will see them come up against Switzerland and Croatia following their Lisbon opener with France.

The wily veteran was a non-playing squad member during the World Cup in Japan and Korea but, whether he makes it to Portugal or not, he feels England have every chance of success provided they can keep their players fresh at the end of an arduous Premiership campaign.

"I think the chances of the country's success this summer are quite good," said Southgate. "I think one issue might depend on what sort of shape the squad is in when they get to Portugal.

"Lots of the guys have played an awful lot of matches and we don't have a winter break like other countries, which doesn't help us. But, in terms of quality of players, we are up there with all the other teams."

Eriksson has remained tight-lipped ahead of his squad selection but, when pressed about Southgate, the England boss admitted: "He can't start practising until the start of June so that makes it difficult for him to get match fit."

Southgate's likely absence would free up an additional centre-half spot - but it is unlikely to be filled by his Middlesbrough teammate Ugo Ehiogu.

Sol Campbell and John Terry are Eriksson's first-choice pairing and, in the absence of Newcastle defender Jonathan Woodgate, the Swede is set to name Manchester United's Phil Neville and Tottenham's Ledley King as his back-ups.

Ehiogu did nothing to aid his cause with a wretched display at Fratton Park on Saturday as Middlesbrough finished their season by crumbling to a 5-1 defeat against Portsmouth.

Boro boss Steve McClaren will be in Portugal as Eriksson's number two in the absence of Brian Kidd but, when asked about Ehiogu and Danny Mills' selection chances following Saturday's debacle, he simply said: "You saw them out there. You write about what you saw."

With Bolo Zenden now having returned to Chelsea, and Gaizka Mendieta struggling to make it into the Spanish squad, McClaren is likely to be Middlesbrough's sole representative in Portugal.

Newcastle might not even be able to boast that if Eriksson is unwilling to risk Kieron Dyer's fitness following his recovery from a hamstring problem.

The versatile midfielder has made just five appearances since the end of February and Eriksson has been considering ditching him in favour of Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe.

But Defoe could yet take the place of Aston Villa forward Darius Vassell and, with Dyer having enjoyed trouble-free run-outs against Southampton and Liverpool last week, the Magpies man is expected to get the nod.

There are unlikely to be any other surprises in the squad, with ten members of Eriksson's preferred starting line-up already inked in.

David James will start in goal, ahead of a defensive unit made up of Campbell, Terry, Gary Neville and Ashley Cole.

David Beckham will start on the right of midfield, with Steven Gerrard on the opposite flank, and Paul Scholes at the head of Eriksson's midfield diamond.

With Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney sure to start up front, that only leaves the defensive midfield position to be filled.

Eriksson would like to find a place for in-form Frank Lampard, but he is not a defensive midfielder, and, while Owen Hargreaves is likely to be tried there next month, Nicky Butt is almost certain to start against France despite his limited recent appearances for Manchester United.

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