MIDDLESBROUGH great Gary Pallister last night sent a heartfelt message of sympathy to Ugo Ehiogu over the injury blow which looks to have destroyed his World Cup dream.

Boro centre-back Ehiogu was forced to withdraw from the England squad for tomorrow's final warm-up game against Paraguay at Anfield after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal.

Ehiogu, Boro's £8m record signing, could be back in action before the end of the season but has missed his last chance to press for inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson's final 23 bound for Japan and South Korea.

Pallister, himself a former England central defender with 22 caps, was part of the Sky Sports team at Old Trafford as Boro's FA Cup hopes were dashed by Gianluca Festa's own goal clanger.

"Hopefully Ugo's injury is not too bad,'' said Pallister. "It's not a hamstring rupture like Roy Keane did a couple of weeks ago. Ugo has more of a pull, which can mean two or three weeks out.

"But it might ruin his England chances which is a shame because along with Gareth Southgate, he's been a pivotal part of the Boro defence this season.''

Ehiogu limped off after little more than half an hour of Sunday's game and was replaced by the unfortunate Festa.

"It was sod's law that Ugo came off, Luca went on and he's the one who scored the own goal,'' said Pallister.

"The Middlesbrough players had the desire and they wanted to win more than Arsenal did. Arsenal didn't play well, but that was because Boro didn't let them.

"They were terrific. All over the park they put Arsenal under pressure; Dennis Bergkamp didn't get the time he craves to create and look for killer passes, and Thierry Henry didn't get the chance to turn and run at the defence because players were snapping at his heels.

"Middlesbrough's first-half performance was superb, but to lose to a goal like that was devastating.

"I think Arsenal realise they were quite lucky. Boro were the better team, even though Arsenal created two fantastic chances in the second half to kill the game off.

"But Luca scored an own goal. The last time he was there in a semi-final against Chesterfield five years ago, he scored in the right end, but this time he has been unlucky. He just shanked it and it flew into the net.

"But the fans can be proud of the team, who can walk with their heads held high after showing such commitment.''

Boro were without suspended skipper Paul Ince, cup-tied Benito Carbone, and Noel Whelan and Jonathan Greening through injury.

Pallister said: "They were always going to miss Incey, who is a big-game player, and Carbone, Greening and Whelan, but they still dominated the game.''

Long-term injury forced Pallister, now 36, to retire last summer after his second spell with Boro, and he has missed out on manager Steve McClaren's Riverside revolution following the departure of Bryan Robson.

But he insists "the future looks good'' under the England coach, who will be at Eriksson's right hand this summer.

"It's taken Steve a bit of time to get his ideas across to the players about the way he wants them to play,'' said Pallister.

"But I think they are reaping the benefits now. The team are putting in some good performances and being solid at the back, which is where you have to start if you're going to build a strong side.

"Steve has given himself a few more attacking options by bringing in Carbone to fill the void between the midfield and the front players. I think it augurs well for next season. If they continue in the same vein of form as they have done in the latter part of this season, the future looks good.

"I would have liked to have been part of things, especially the FA Cup semi-final. These occasions are fantastic and I was fortunate enough to play in four myself and not lose any.'

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