Stephen Warnock injured for England

Villa defender Stephen Warnock's World Cup dreams were today hanging by a thread after limping out of England training.

The left-back twisted his ankle yesterday and could miss the final audition for Fabio Capello's 23-man squad against Japan in Graz on Sunday. The extent of the problem will be assessed in the next 24 hours with this World Cup hopes quickly disappearing.

Warnock was an unused substitute in Monday's 3-1 win over Mexico and his hopes of ousting Everton's Leighton Baines look slim.

Either Baines or the 28-year-old's will be one of the seven cut from the provisional 30-man squad for the tournament in South Africa.

Boss Capello is after back-up for first-choice left-back Ashley Cole and Baines is the frontrunner, after playing the full 90 minutes against the Mexicans.

Warnock, who has one cap, was a surprise inclusion in the 30-man squad after an impressive debut season for Villa, but looks set for late heartbreak.

Capello is expected to name an experimental line-up for Sunday's game in Austria to give his troops a final chance to impress before naming his squad on Tuesday.