Dave Beasant named on Stevenage bench as former England goalkeeper makes stunning return to football aged 55

Beasant was a last-minute call-up for Stevenage for their away trip to Carlisle

Dave Beasant (Getty Images)

Former England goalkeeper Dave Beasant was a surprise inclusion among the Stevenage substitutes for their League Two match against Carlisle on Saturday, despite having not played for over 10 years and having turned 55 earlier this year.

Beasant picked up two caps for the Three Lions in 1989, when the late Sir Bobby Robson called him up for matches against Italy in November and Yugoslavia a month later.

His club career reads like a who’s who of England league football, having played for the likes of Wimbledon, Newcastle, Chelsea and Southampton, and he has amassed 774 league appearances over his career.

His last league appearance came for Brighton and Hove Albion during the 2002-03 season, although he did make a non-league appearance for North Greenford United in the Southern Football League last season.

Beasant joined Stevenage last summer as their new goalkeeping coach, given that his 25-year-old Sam currently plays for the club.

Beasant alongside Eric Youngs, Lawrie Sanchez and Terry Phelan celebrating Wimbledon's 1988 FA Cup success (Getty Images)

Beasant at the Football Extravaganza in 2013 (Getty Images)

Beasant walks onto the pitch with a cup of coffee during a charity match in 2009 (Getty Images)

But when one of their goalkeepers was unavailable, Stevenage announced that Beasant would be donning the gloves once more – at least should he be called upon as he was named on the substitutes’ bench – with Chris Day starting the match in goal for The Boro.

Stevenage’s Twitter account was quick to crack the first Beasant-related joke, as the posted: “For those asking, no we haven't any Dave Beasant perm wigs in the club shop. You never know though...!”

Beasant’s name was soon trending in the United Kingdom on Twitter, but Roy Hodgson was unlikely to be preparing a late call-up for their match against Estonia on Sunday.