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Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling are set to miss England's forthcoming friendlies, with Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini saying he expected muscle injuries to keep them out for up to a month. Roy Hodgson's England travel to take on world champions Germany next weekend, following that up with a game against Netherlands at Wembley. However, the 24-man squad named on Thursday for those matches looks set to change after Sterling and Hart were injured as City lost 1-0 at home to rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Sterling pulled up with a groin complaint midway through the first half and Hart was taken off on a stretcher after half-time having sustained a calf injury while trying to clear a horrible Martin Demichelis backpass. "Both of them have muscle injuries," Pellegrini said. "Raheem his groin and Joe in his calf. I don't think that with a muscle injury you can be fit in one week. Normally it is three or four weeks." Demichelis had a woeful afternoon at the Etihad Stadium, not only with the back pass that led to Hart's injury but also for his embarrassing role in conceding Marcus Rashford's goal. Pellegrini rejected the suggestion that Rashford was too good for Demichelis, although accepted his substitution early in the second half was a result of a bad day at the office. "He was nervous," Pellegrini said, having taken him off in the 53rd minute. "He was not having a good day." Information from Press Association was used in this report.
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