Wembley pitch put to the test prior to England arrival

The Wembley pitch was relaid for the 10th time in March

Wembley's much maligned pitch will face a busy few weeks before England's final World Cup warm-up fixture on home soil with Mexico on May 24.

The surface, replaced 10 times since 2007, will host a Guinness Premiership rugby fixture on 17 April.

Chelsea and Portsmouth contest the FA Cup final on 15 May, while the Blue Square Premier play-off final follows the next day.

England play Mexico two days after the Championship play-off final on 22 May.

The Wembley pitch is managed by the Sports Turf Institute, who are employed by Wembley National Stadium Limited, and costs in the region of £100,000 to relay.

GORDON FARQUHAR BLOG

The FA must face the reality that there currently doesn't seem to be an answer to the question of how to make the stadium pay, while actually making it play

Following Sunday's FA Cup Semi-Final with Portsmouth, the Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp described the surface as "a disgrace, farcical [and] impossible to play on."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson recently spoke of the "heavy" pitch playing its part in striker Michael Owen suffering a season-ending hamstring injury during the 2010 Carling Cup final.

With the number of sporting events taking place between now and 24 May, England manager Fabio Capello will be concerned that increased damage to the Wembley turf could put key members of his World Cup squad at increased risk of injury.