Ledley King has been effectively ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after picking up a groin injury against the United States on Saturday.

Injury problem: Ledley King has been effectively ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after picking up a groin injury against the United States on Saturday

The Tottenham centre-back was withdrawn at half-time after feeling “tightness” in his groin and it was hoped that he would only miss this Friday’s Group C tie against Algeria.

However, the England medical staff fear the injury is worse than originally thought — he has damaged an adductor muscle — and the diagnosis is now two to three weeks out. In theory, King could return for a quarter-final tie, but it is unlikely that he would be considered for selection.

The injury, following the loss of Rio Ferdinand, is a serious blow and calls into question Fabio Capello’s gamble in taking King, who has struggled with a chronic knee problem, to the tournament. He will now miss the rest of the group stages at least.

It was one of several gambles the England manager took against the US that backfired. His decision to play James Milner — who had been suffering from a virus — also proved to be a mistake, with the midfielder substituted in the first half after a torrid 30 minutes.

“He hadn’t trained for a couple of days so he probably wasn’t at his sharpest,” admitted John Terry afterwards. “I’m not too sure how fit he was.”

The England manager had been desperate to include Milner on the left, and he was declared fit by team doctor Ian Beasley.

The player himself said he was ready to play after completing training on Friday, but later it was privately conceded that the 23 year-old had simply not been well enough.

Capello claimed that Milner was withdrawn because he had already collected a booking, but it was the after-effects of the virus that led to his departure.

Terry said: “We had a lot of problems with the goal and Milner and King going off early, and we have to tell ourselves that’s our bad luck out of the way, otherwise we’d sit here and beat ourselves up about it. The manager’s plans have gone out of the window a little bit.”

Capello will bring Gareth Barry into his side in midfield against the Algerians and must decide who partners Terry in the centre of defence.

There will also be a discussion over whether England should opt for a change of formation or simply move Steven Gerrard — who again failed to gel with Frank Lampard — back across to the left. There will undoubtedly be calls for Joe Cole’s inclusion.

Jamie Carragher, who replaced King at half-time, said: “If you don’t play well continuously you will come unstuck. But it’s not as if it was a disastrous. I think it was decent performance.”

His view was echoed by Glen Johnson, who said of Capello after the match: “He was calm. He said he was happy. He would have preferred to win but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s ridiculous to think we’re in crisis. The spirit’s still good. The boys will stick together through anything. That’s behind us, we didn’t lose the game and we go into the next one.”

Shaun Wright-Phillips, who replaced Milner in the first half, agreed. “Fabio is just like us, he knows we played well and were just unlucky,” he said.

“We’re only going to get better, and it might end up being a good result. All we can do is go on and beat Algeria. It’s important that we win all of our remaining games.”

One of England’s most disappointing performers was Lampard, who endorsed the view that it was “crucial” to beat the Algerians in Cape Town.

“To win against the US would have put us in the driving seat, but we have to believe in ourselves,” he said. “It was the first game. First games are notoriously cagey and we were just unlucky with the goal.”