Had Carrick been fit sooner he may have just played a part in England’s World Cup qualification. Instead, Spurs captain Ledley King filled the hole just in front of the back four.
England coach Sven Goran Eriksson explained to the Daily Telegraph after the Poland game on Wednesday night: "You need to look at the opponent. If you're meeting a team with two strikers and one behind, then you need a sitting midfielder."
King told The Sun newspaper: "It was great for me to get a start for England and I did enjoy it, even though it was a different position for me.
"I joined the squad as a defender — that’s what I am so I was surprised Mr Eriksson asked me to play there because it’s not a job I’ve done for a few seasons.
"It would be difficult for me to only play this role every couple of months for England and I’ve not thought of being a midfielder again.
"But having so many great players around me made the task easier.
"My presence in the middle meant that Frank Lampard felt he could push on a bit more than usual and leave me to pick up the pieces.
"Now I’m going to go back to Tottenham and play centre-half again and that’s where I’ll play for the rest of the season.
"It was nice to see one of my players there for England and I was proud of him. He looked like he had been there every match," said Spurs Head Coach Martin Jol.
But Jol told the Daily Mirror: "I need Ledley at the back and I have Michael Carrick to play in the midfield holding role."