Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes Jamie Carragher should have played through the pain-barrier by going to the World Cup finals with England.
Carragher yesterday revealed that he had made the decision not to make himself available for England so that he could have surgery on his knee and be fit in time for the opening day of the season.
Lawrenson said: "Jamie Carragher can feel hard done by to not be making the journey to the Far East with England later this month.
"His omission is the only surprise in the squad Sven-Goran Eriksson named yesterday to end months of - at times - wild speculation.
"Of course, Carragher requires a knee operation after having played through the pain barrier in the last few weeks.
"But in all honesty, I'm sure he could have been persuaded to have performed for another month or so, especially in the World Cup - the pinnacle of any player's career.
"Instead, Danny Mills has made the squad and I have my doubts over his temperament, particularly in the hot and humid conditions the finals will be played in.
"Wes Brown is more of a centre-back than a right-back, while Owen Hargreaves is untested in defence.
"Carragher, while limited going forward, is a better defender and I'm concerned with the suitability of the players selected ahead of him."