Dawson was carried off on a stretcher during England's 4-0 European Championship qualifying win against Bulgaria after his leg collapsed horribly beneath him early in the second half at Wembley. The freak incident appeared similar to that which saw Michael Owen sidelined for almost a year during the 2006 World Cup. But scans today showed Dawson's injury was not as serious as that, although he could be sidelined until the end of November. The 26-year-old was released from the England squad this morning and returned to Tottenham before undergoing a scan. A statement on Spurs' official website, www.tottenhamhotspur.com, read: "Scans today have revealed that Michael Dawson has sprained his left medial knee ligament and one of his left ankle ligaments. "The defender has been withdrawn from the England squad after suffering the injuries during last night's 4-0 European Championship qualifying win against Bulgaria at Wembley and is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks." That timescale would see the defender miss between eight and 11 games for his club, including their opening two or three Champions League Group A matches against Werder Bremen, FC Twente and Inter Milan. He will also sit out England's Euro 2012 qualifier in Switzerland on Tuesday and the October 12 Wembley clash against Montenegro.
