Sven-Goran Eriksson will decide on Kieron Dyer's World Cup place at the end of this week, but it seems the Newcastle midfielder will be ruled out.
Dyer is hoping he could recover from a knee injury sustained at Southampton last weekend.
However, the medical advice received by Eriksson last Sunday, after Dyer had been examined by the Newcastle and England staff, was the midfielder would be out for four weeks.
Dyer has since had undergoing intensive treatment at St James' Park to try and change Eriksson's mind ahead of the May 21st deadline for squads to be revealed to FIFA.
But it appears Dyer's absence from the World Cup will be confirmed on Friday or Saturday, leaving Danny Murphy and Trevor Sinclair to be included in the final 23-man party.
Meanwhile, an ‘upbeat’ England squad braved stifling humidity in Dubai for their first pre-World Cup training session.
"Training was fine. It lasted about an hour or so. It was a gentle workout, just a bit of running," said FA spokesman Paul Newman.
Newman played down the fact that six of the team, Wayne Bridge, Nicky Butt, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Emile Heskey had been spotted by a British daily newspaper at a Dubai nightclub in the early hours.
"They're top professionals on a holiday. There is not a curfew and it is not an issue," he said.
The English squad arrived yesterday for a four-day stay in Dubai, the Gulf city-state that is one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates federation.
The players and their families are staying in five-star luxury amid tightened security at the Jumeirah Beach Club, a spa resort chosen by the FA for its intimate exclusivity.