FOOTBALL: Ferdinand pulls out as Johnson is called up

Rio Ferdinand is out of England's squad for the friendly match against Holland at Villa Park on Wednesday, but Andy Johnson, Crystal Palace's prolific goalscorer, and Stewart Downing, the impressive Middlesbrough midfielder, have been called up for the first time.

Ferdinand's hamstring injury was not serious enough to prevent him from finishing Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Birmingham City at Old Trafford yesterday, but Sir Alex Ferguson, United's manager, said his record signing would not join up with Sven Goran Eriksson's squad today. Ferguson will be without Mikael Silvestre for next Sunday's Manchester derby because he is suspended and was unwilling to take a risk with Ferdinand. With Sol Campbell already ruled out through injury, Ferdinand's absence gives the Swede another chance to look at alternative centre-back pairings, with Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson and Jamie Carragher vying for starting roles.

Johnson, who has scored 16 times for Palace this season, is given his chance with Eriksson unable to call on Alan Smith, Darius Vassell and Emile Heskey, who are not fit. The Crystal Palace striker deserves his chance because, leaving aside yesterday's glaring miss in the defeat by Bolton Wanderers, he is in a rich vein of form. He is second only to Arsenal's Thierry Henry in the Premiership scoring charts and ahead of Tottenham's Jermain Defoe, who continues in the England squad.

Iain Dowie, Johnson's manager at Crystal Palace, had begun to wonder what more Johnson would have to do to catch Eriksson's eye. "He has four or five goals more than some pounds 7million or pounds 8million strikers," Dowie said. "But it won't change him [playing for England]. I don't expect to see a difference in AJ now he has been called up."

Downing, like Johnson, has looked impressive in the Premiership and has long been regarded as a future England player. The 20-year-old has been seen by many as an ideal solution to England's problem position on the left side of midfield. He will be competing for a starting place in the role with Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge. Steve McClaren, Downing's manager at the Riverside and an England coach, thought he deserved to be called up. "Back in November, when his name was being linked [with England] then, I thought it was too early because it had not done it consistently enough. But since then he has," McClaren said.

ENGLAND SQUAD (v Holland, friendly match, Villa Park, Wednesday): Paul Robinson (Tottenham), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich); Gary Neville (Man Utd), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Glen Johnson (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (Birmingham); David Beckham (Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Kieron Dyer (Newcastle); Michael Owen (Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace).