Lampard ruled out of England's qualifier against San Marino

LONDON (AP) - Frank Lampard will miss England's World Cup qualifier against San Marino on Friday after failing to shrug off a knee injury, leaving the national team's captaincy up for grabs.

However, the English Football Association (FA) said Thursday that the Chelsea midfielder could return for Tuesday's Group H match in Poland, the much tougher of the two games.

Lampard, who limped off midway through the second half of Chelsea's 4-1 win over Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday, was expected to take the armband in the absence of the suspended Steven Gerrard.

Striker Wayne Rooney and goalkeeper Joe Hart are now the leading candidates for the prized captaincy for the sellout match at Wembley Stadium.