Frank Lampard has not played since August 25 when he sustained a thigh injury, and Chelsea have certainly missed him. Whether England have is more debatable. He was expected to be ruled out of England's two crucial Euro qualifiers against Estonia and Russia, having also missed the two victories last month over Israel and Russia.
In his absence, Gareth Barry came in and struck up an impressive central midfield partnership with Steven Gerrard.
Now Lampard hopes to be named as a substitute for Chelsea this weekend, and to be a part of McClaren's plans next weekend.
Whether McClaren would be prepared to break up the Barry-Gerrard pairing in favour of a Lampard-Gerrard partnership that has rarely fulfilled its potential is a contentious issue.
But McClaren will no doubt welcome Lampard's availability, given that fellow midfielders Michael Carrick (broken elbow), Owen Hargreaves (knee) and Jermaine Jenas (stomach strain) are out of the picture, with Shaun Wright-Phillips (leg) a doubt.
McClaren will name a 27-man squad later today, with West Ham striker Dean Ashton expected to replace Emile Heskey, who is recovering from a broken metatarsal.
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