Tottenham Hotspur winger Aaron Lennon has been forced to withdraw from the England squad for the international friendly against Brazil next Friday and the EURO 2008 qualifier against Estonia five days later through injury.

Lennon limped out of England B's 3-1 win against Albania last Friday, with scans on the injury now confirming that the 20-year-old right-winger will not be able to link-up with the rest of the Three Lions squad.

The news, although bad for Lennon, will be a boost for former England skipper David Beckham, who's quality performances for Real Madrid this season have forced the England coach to rethink his squad, and it now seems likely that he will be involved in both games.

England have struggled so far in their EURO 2008 qualifiers, where they currently stand in 4th place in Group E, behind leaders Croatia, Israel and Russia and urgently need a convincing win against Estonia to have a chance of qualifying for next years tournament.

It is not yet known if McClaren will name a replacement for Lennon.

England Squad for international friendly v Brazil and EURO 2008 qualifier v Estonia:

Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson, (Tottenham Hotspur), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Robert Green (West Ham).

Defenders: Phil Neville (Everton), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea, captain), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicky Shorey (Reading).

Midfielders: David Beckham (Real Madrid), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe Cole (Chelsea), David Bentley (Blackburn), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Kieron Dyer (Newcastle).

Strikers: Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Alan Smith (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur).

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati