SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON has reassured Middlesbrough captain Gareth Southgate that he will wait for the defender to prove his fitness ahead of the European Championships this summer.

But the good news for Southgate came on a bad day for Boro as they try to derail Chelsea's Premier League hopes with the prospect of having a full team unavailable for selection.

The experienced international's chances of playing a part for his country in the Portugal showpiece looked to have been dashed when he strained medial knee ligaments in training on Tuesday.

Despite being ruled out for the rest of the Premiership campaign, Southgate's intentions were made immediately clear when he declared he was not giving up hope of making Eriksson's squad.

And he received a timely boost from the England manager, who said: ''I heard about the injury and, of course, it's bad news for the player and for us.

''I am going to call Gareth to wish him well. I have said before that, as we do not have Rio Ferdinand, players like Sol Campbell, Gareth Southgate, Jonathan Woodgate and John Terry are very important players for us.

''I will be keeping a check on the progress he makes. He is a strong man in mentality and physically so we hope he can recover quickly.''

The provisional list, for two friendlies with Japan and Iceland in June, is due to be announced on May 17.

Boro manager Steve McClaren, the Swede's former No 2, revealed that he had been contacted by the England boss for an update on the centre-back's condition.

"Sven phoned to check up and wanted to know the extent of the problem," said McClaren.

"Gareth is not panicking at the moment. He is the same as any player and he's not happy about being injured. There's never really a good time and now is not a good time for him.

"I wouldn't rule him out of playing. He has got his knee in a brace for five weeks, although he can take it off, then we will assess him after that. He has a few weeks to work his way into the squad.

"I have spoken to Sven and Gareth and there's no rush. Gareth's top priority is to get fit and I believe he is still in with a great chance of being in contention for Portugal."

McClaren has a further ten players either ruled out or doubtful for the match at Stamford Bridge.

McClaren has already recalled Colin Cooper from a loan spell with Sunderland and there is a chance that young full-back David Murphy will be asked to return from his temporary stint at Barnsley.

Long-term casualties Andrew Davies, Malcolm Christie (both leg) and goalkeeper Carlo Nash are definitely missing tomorrow.

As are Brazilian Doriva (groin), Cameroon star Joseph Job (hamstring) and Dutchman Bolo Zenden, who is not allowed to play against his parent club.

The biggest worries for McClaren are in his defensive ranks after Ugo Ehiogu and Chris Riggott had to be withdrawn from training yesterday with knee and ankle problems respectively. Danny Mills has been ill over the past few days, while Franck Queudrue trained for the first time yesterday and remains a doubt.

McClaren concedes he has no clue as to what his back four may be when Boro take to the field against double-chasing Chelsea.

Cooper looks certain to play and McClaren said: "We brought him back because of the size of the injury list we have got.

"Colin was fantastic for us earlier in the season and there's no problems about putting him in again.

"We are awaiting an assessment on Riggott's ankle. Ugo had to come off with his knee and Danny Mills has not been well. I have got another 24-48 hours, so we'll just have to wait and see."

* Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri warned Arsenal doubts may start to undermine their title bid as he urged his team to pile the pressure on Arsene Wenger's side.

Ranieri admitted he was like a ''madman'' celebrating his team's midweek success at Highbury as their quarter-final victory put him in ''seventh heaven''.

However, the Italian is determined to ensure that Chelsea now build on their achievement.

''The best moments in life are when you win trophies. This is like a little station, I still want to arrive at the final destination,'' he declared.

''For us, the Champions League is still a gamble. You can win or you can lose, but the Premiership remains our main target.

''I said to the players that everything could happen now over Easter. Both teams are playing twice and we must wait and see."