Joleon Lescott recalled to England squad ahead of qualifiers as Spurs duo Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon withdraw injured
Sunday 17 March 2013
Related articles
-
Sam Wallace: It's inescapable, the England team is old and hasn't moved on since 2006
-
International career over? Rio Ferdinand pulls out of England squad for World Cup qualifiers
-
International career over? Rio Ferdinand pulls out of England squad
-
England dogged by defence dilemmas ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers
Joleon Lescott was recalled to the England squad tonight just three days after being left out of Roy Hodgson’s original 26-man squad when Michael Dawson withdrew with a hamstring injury.
Aaron Lennon, Dawson’s Tottenham team-mate, also pulled out with injury, having not featured in the club’s 1-0 home defeat to Fulham. That aside, Hodgson’s squad, now 25-strong, who meet up at St George’s Park tomorrow evening, came through relatively unscathed from the weekend’s fixtures.
Lescott was left out the original squad for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro next week because Hodgson felt that the defender had played “too little football”. He has slipped out of contention dramatically at Manchester City under Roberto Mancini and is expected to leave in the summer.
Dawson was substituted at half-time at White Hart Lane after feeling a hamstring strain. “He felt his muscle going in the first half. If we had brought him on in the second half we would have been risking a major injury,” said Villas-Boas.
“I think Michael will be assessed by the England team doctors, they will be in communication with our medical department to find out if he will make it or not. He probably won’t, but it’s something that they have to decide between them.”
On Lennon, Villas Boas added: “We had to be much more sensible because he won’t be able to make it. He’s been struggling with injuries. We risked him against Inter Milan and he is on the brink of rupturing his muscle so we have decided to take him out of this game. He has groin and hamstring injuries.”
Manchester United have indicated that Ashley Young will be passed fit to join up with England this evening after taking a kick to his ankle in Saturday’s win over Reading.
That makes a total of seven United players in England’s squad, including Rio Ferdinand, who Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Saturday would join up with training.
Hodgson left a voicemail with the 34-year-old defender on Friday night assuring him that he would receive the highest standards of medical care during his time with the squad and would not be forced to play in either of the World Cup qualifiers if he was not passed fit.
Hodgson, meanwhile, has said Wayne Rooney will be well aware of the pressures on him in Podgorica a week tomorrow, playing the same opposition against whom he was sent off during the Euro 2012 qualifier in October 2011.
Asked by the BBC if provocation could be a factor, Hodgson said: “You might be right, but they are the things players need to come to terms with. Wayne doesn’t seem to have been affected by opponents in any game that we have played so far. His disciplinary record is good with us and he has not let me down. I’ve got no reason to doubt him.
“Wayne made a mistake, he has held his hand up and admitted it was a mistake. He paid a high price for it because he missed two Euro 2012 games. He won’t need me to remind him because it will be fresh in his memory because you don’t forget being sent off.”
Ferguson said on Saturday that the club would lay on private jets to bring back their internationals from friendly matches, including for Shinji Kagawa, who plays for Japan in Qatar and Jordan this month, and Javier Hernandez, who will represent Mexico in Honduras and at home in Mexico City. “They are going to cost the club an awful lot of money but it’s something we feel we must do,” Ferguson said.
Sport blogs
Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!
Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!
by Luke Wilkins
22 May 2013 05:00 AM
iBet: Bale and Rooney transfer specials
The dust is barely settling on the Premier League season and the bookies are looking to persuade us ...
by Gareth Purnell
22 May 2013 02:01 AM
A changing of the guards in English football: From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho
The guard has changed at Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Meanwhile, down the road, the ...
by The Sports Lawyer
21 May 2013 10:01 PM
-
Gaël Clichy: Roberto Mancini must take share of blame for dismissal
-
Sergio Garcia apologises for 'fried chicken' remark aimed towards Tiger Woods
-
Exclusive: Championship clubs set to push for safe-standing trials
-
Phil Neville in frame for role at Stoke City
-
Andy Carroll stalls on £15m move to West Ham in hope Newcastle step in
- 1 Gay couple beaten in park urge MPs to moderate language on gay marriage
- 2 After woman sells virginity for $780,000, here are the results of our prostitution survey
- 3 Exclusive: Championship clubs set to push for safe-standing trials
- 4 China agrees to impose carbon targets by 2016
- 5 Far-right French historian, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, commits suicide in Notre Dame in protest against gay marriage
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’
Why clubs are keen to take a stand
,




Comments