Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll's England hopes have been hit by a groin injury.
The Newcastle striker was thrilled to get his first call-up from Fabio Capello for Wednesday's friendly against France.
But, in the back of his mind, he feared the worst having felt his groin go in the dying minutes of Newcastle's game against Fulham on Saturday.
Carroll told The Sun: "There had been a lot of hints that I would get in the England squad and when I got told officially on Saturday night it was the best feeling in the world.
"But then the prospect of having to pull out felt like the worst feeling in the world."
Capello was set to throw Carroll in from the start against the French, making his injury all the more galling.
The player, who has impressed with seven Premier League strikes already this term, added: "I don't know what the manager's plans were for me.
"All I wanted was to get involved and show what I could do."
Carroll recalled the moment he realised he might miss out on his dream.
He explained: "I just felt a twinge in the groin as we were pushing forward to try and get a goal but I don't really know how it happened.
"I saw the doctor after the match and it was decided to have another look at it on Sunday lunchtime. I hoped that if I got a good night's sleep I might wake up and it would feel better because that's happened before.
"It felt worse when I got up but improved during the day."
Carroll travelled to England's training camp at The Grove in Watford last night and will have a scan today.