Not just for England - but for Liverpool as well.
For a start, the injury problems McClaren has had means that if there's a chance of Gerrard being fit he will be desperate to get him in the side.
By the time the game comes round it will be three weeks since he played against Chelsea with an injection so he should be able to play pain-free by now.
If he does that this weekend and gets through 90 minutes, McClaren will have no choice but to send Gerrard out against Russia as well.
Rafael Benitez, on the face of it, might not be too chuffed about this, especially as he's already pretty narked about having one of his early kick-offs at Portsmouth the following Saturday.
Given the mood he's in, I wouldn't like the job of ringing him to tell him Gerrard had aggravated his injury while on international duty. But if the Liverpool captain comes through okay it could be a big boost for the manager when his side returns to Premier League action.
Gerrard will have minutes under his belt in a highly competitive environment, so he will be match-sharp and raring to go after having to sit out the last three club games.
And with Liverpool scoring 12 goals and going top of the table - where they will still be when they go to Portsmouth in 11 days' time - Benitez actually has little to worry about as long as Gerrard comes through the internationals unscathed.
The Spaniard knows that he now has a squad that can cope without him, maybe not long-term, but certainly in plugging the gap he has left short-term.
In fact, Gerrard couldn't have been out at a better time because the games he and Jamie Carragher missed have provided the perfect chance for some of the new players to settle in and prove Liverpool can cope without their star Scousers.
The problem is, in the case of Gerrard anyway, I don't think England can.
Israel are no Derby County. I watched them quite a bit when they were in Ireland's qualifying group for the last World Cup and they easily got draws in Dublin and against France in Paris.
They did it by drowning out the midfield. They put loads of them in there, stifling possession and creativity. And they'll do that no problem at Wembley on Saturday if England don't have Gerrard in there.
The real key is getting players wide and this is where England can really benefit from the start Shaun Wright-Phillips has made to the season.
Him on the right, Joe Cole on the left, Gerrard going through the middle with Owen Hargreaves sitting in, and Michael Owen up front with one other is looking like McClaren's perfect formation.
Whether Benitez likes it or not, it gives him the best chance of getting six points out of six this week and perhaps saving his job by keeping England in with a chance of qualifying.
So it's inconceivable his final say on Gerrard will be anything other than: "Yep, you're fit son, get your boots on." But if Gerrard does play a part in England getting those two wins he will come back to Liverpool buzzing.
An he'll join a squad top of the Premier League and dying to get out there to extend that lead next Saturday lunchtime.
It's a scenario that just might work out for Benitez better than he could imagine just now.