Gareth Barry should not give up on his World Cup dream insists City boss Roberto Mancini.

The Italian is keeping his fingers crossed that the midfielder will make it to South Africa with England.

Barry, 29, is facing four weeks on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments during Wednesday night’s home defeat against Tottenham.

That means he will definitely miss England’s two pre-World Cup friendlies later this month.

And England boss Fabio Capello must decide whether to name Barry in his provisional 30-man squad on Tuesday.

England will face Mexico at Wembley on May 24, before tackling Japan in the Austrian city of Graz six days later.

Capello will then cut his party down to a final 23 for South Africa.

Barry, who has 36 caps to his name, played in eight of England’s 10 qualifying games for the World Cup, establishing himself as a key part of Capello’s midfield.

He visited a specialist on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury – and the length of his absence.

England will kick off their World Cup campaign five weeks today, against the USA in Rustenburg.

Mancini is expected to give Capello’s right-hand man Franco Baldini the full low-down on Barry’s injury tomorrow at Upton Park, where City take on West Ham.

And the City boss said: “I am very sorry for Gareth, because he is a fantastic guy, a fantastic player.

“I hope that he can play in the World Cup. But that is a decision for the England medical team and Fabio Capello.

“But I hope that Gareth will recover in time for the World Cup.”

Barry was an unused England squad member at Euro 2000, but has not featured in the final party at any major international tournament since.

He went almost four years without winning an international cap before Steve McClaren recalled him for a friendly against Spain at Old Trafford in February 2007.
While Barry is definitely out of tomorrow’s West Ham clash, Mancini is not planning too many more changes.

He said: “It’s important to finish with a win at West Ham. We want to finish fifth, ahead of Liverpool, who are a strong team.

‘If we finish ahead of Liverpool, that will be a good achievement.

“We want to win this game. For me, that’s important. I may change one or two players because a couple are very tired. But there will not be too many changes.”

West Ham league form: DWLWL

City league form: WLDWL

Key opponent: Scott Parker - Stan-out performer in a struggling side this season

Prediction: West Ham 0 City 3 - Hammers on the end of a Blues backlash

Agree with the prediction? Have your say.

Click here for all the latest odds from Betfred.