Eriksson's side kick off their World Cup qualification game at the Ernst Happel Stadium with concerns over the Liverpool captain's fitness.

The midfielder was forced to pull out of the last ten minutes of a training session yesterday and is being assessed by the team's doctor and physio.

Eriksson admits Gerrard is only 50-50 to play against the Austrians, but believes England have enough quality to fill the void should he fail to recover in time.

He said: "I'm a little concerned and he is only 50-50 at the moment.

"The only thing I can say at the moment is that if I think the injury will be made worse by playing, then he won't play. I will talk to the doctor and the physio and if they say it is not a risk, then he will be included.

"But we have enough players to be covered should he not be available. We have David Beckham to play in the centre.

"He did it for more than one year at Real Madrid and did it very well. If he can play there for Madrid he can certainly do so for England.

"I think the responsibility on his shoulders is always incredible every time he plays.

"We expect him to the best in the team because he usually is. I always feel sorry for him when is not the best on the pitch and is always criticised.

"I am sure if he plays centre midfield he will be very happy, but he will also be on the right because we had a talk yesterday and he said he had no problem either way.

"But we also have Owen Hargreaves who I think his best position is in the sitting role. He has played everywhere for Bayern Munich and has done well."

Eriksson boasts one of the best records in international management having yet to see his side lose a qualification game since he took over.

Quarter Final defeats at the World Cup to Brazil and at the European Championships to Portugal have led some fans to question the country's ability to perform at the top level.

But the former Lazio coach has rubbished such talk and while he says Austria are a team worthy of great respect, he is adamant that England are still one of the best football teams in the world.

He added: "If you talk about England in the other countries, I'm sure the respect is huge, much more than it is with some people in England.

"We are a big football nation. We lost by nothing in the last two tournaments and we have beaten the likes of Argentina and Germany.

"My dream is the same as everyone's - for England to play well and win a big tournament.

"I think it will be a big challenge against Austria. As long as I have been in charge, I have never had an easy qualification game.

"We thought Albania, who are not a huge football nation, would be easy but it wasn't. I am expecting a very difficult game. We are maybe the favourites but Austria have nothing to lose."