England's preparations for their make-or-break Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey were surrounded in uncertainty today as Sven-Goran Eriksson delayed publicly naming his squad for a further 24 hours.
Eriksson did not issue any detailed explanation for the second delay ahead of Saturday's game in Istanbul, although it is hard to believe it was caused by the injury doubts over Michael Owen.
It was also not thought to be due to Sol Campbell's disciplinary hearing being set down for Wednesday, just three days before the game, as Eriksson was apparently actually in favour of the defender clearing the matter up as quickly as possible.
It, therefore, all added up to a day of considerable confusion surrounding the England squad, which was originally scheduled to be announced on Sunday evening, ahead of such an important fixture.
Owen's injury, sustained during Liverpool's game against Arsenal on Saturday, contributed to the initial delay, supposedly until 2pm today.
However, another announcement was then issued just after 1.30pm, as Football Association head of media Adrian Bevington told the FA's website, www.theFA.com: "The England squad for Saturday's Euro 2004 qualifier will be announced at 1pm on Tuesday October 7th.
"This delay has occurred to allow final arrangements regarding the availability of players to be confirmed."
Beyond that, no further details were given, although the England squad were still expected to convene in time for tomorrow afternoon's initial training session, with most, if not all, of the players told of their call-ups today.
Why Eriksson has felt the need for such secrecy remains to be seen, although the FA statement did refer to the issue of "availability" rather than "fitness" of players, potentially indicating a matter of a personal nature.
After all, it would hardly have been strange for the England coach to name a player with an injury problem and then replace him with a late call-up if the need arose.
With Darius Vassell expected to return to the squad after injury, Eriksson has the Aston Villa striker, Emile Heskey, James Beattie and Wayne Rooney at his disposal along, potentially, with Owen.
The England coach, who could also move Paul Scholes further forward, may explain his thinking at a press conference at 2pm tomorrow, when he will also be asked about the timing of Campbell's disciplinary case.
The Arsenal defender requested a personal hearing to defend himself against a misconduct charge arising out of his alleged retaliation against Eric Djemba-Djemba at the FA Community Shield.
The FA had earmarked next Monday, after the squad have returned from Istanbul, as their preferred date despite Arsene Wenger's claim that this Thursday was the likely timing. It now transpires the case will be heard on Wednesday afternoon, along with several other hearings, allowing Campbell to train with the rest of the England squad that morning before travelling out to Istanbul the next day.
One issue was at least decided today as respected Italian referee Pierluigi Collina was appointed as the replacement for Danish official Kim Milton Nielsen, who has been forced to pull out of the fixture due to injury.
Collina was the man in charge when England beat Argentina in the World Cup, and had also overseen the 5-1 triumph over Germany in Munich during the qualifiers.