Sol Campbell will start England's UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier against Estonia in place of injured captain John Terry, head coach Steve McClaren confirmed on the eve of the match.

Confirmation of the Portsmouth defender's recall to the national team came after Terry suffered an injury to his left knee that is also threatening to rule him out of Wednesday's clash with Russia in Moscow.

"To be able to call on someone with that experience and quality is tremendous," McClaren said of his decision to recall Campbell. "His reaction has been excellent, as expected."

The former Arsenal player has not been capped for his country since the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ and has not started a competitive match for England in two years.

And although he has revived his career at Portsmouth, there are doubts about the 33-year-old's physical ability to come through two matches in the space of four days, should he also be required for the Russia match.

McClaren's options in the centre of defence have been reduced by the loss of Wes Brown to a knee injury and Jamie Carragher's decision to quit international football.

If either Campbell or Rio Ferdinand pick up injuries on Saturday and Terry is unable to return to the side, McClaren could switch Micah Richards into the centre of defence, where he now plays for Manchester City, and draft in Phil Neville as a stand-in right-back.