THE groin strain which has forced Alan Shearer out of tonight's England game is not thought to be a serious problem.

He has been having treatment on and off for a couple of weeks and, possibly thinking about Rovers as well as giving someone else a chance, Terry Venables decided not to risk the Ewood striker against Bulgaria.

Shearer is continuing to have treatment with the England party and Tony Parkes said today that Rovers were hopeful he would be ready to face Everton on Saturday.

"We'll have to take a look at him when he comes back, but it doesn't seem to be anything more than a straightforward groin strain," said Parkes.

Meanwhile, Hristo Stoichkov promised England they are about to discover just how good they will have to be in next summer's European Championships. Bulgaria, the World Cup semi-finalists, threaten to be Venables' side's biggest hurdle to date as they gear themselves up for the challenge of Euro '96. Dimitar Penev's outfit slaughtered Wales home and away in a qualifying campaign in which they also beat Germany at home.

Although Bulgaria's form fell away in the last few matches, defeat by the Germans in the final match costing them top spot, Parma striker Stoichkov believes his team will prove they are now world class themselves. "We're as good a team as there is anywhere at the moment," said the former Barcelona man.

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