Tom Heaton replaces injured Joe Hart in England squad

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 21 March 2016

Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton replaces the injured Joe Hart in the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands.

Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton has replaced the injured Joe Hart in the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands.

Hart was forced off in the opening stages of the second half of Manchester City's 1-0 defeat to local rivals Manchester United with a calf injury that could keep the England number one out for up to a month.

Hart's club teammate Raheem Sterling was also injured in that match and has been forced to withdraw from the squad, although Roy Hodgson has not named a replacement for the winger.

"Obviously it's very disappointing for Joe and Raheem to suffer injuries which will rule them out of our games against Germany and Holland," Hodgson told the FA's official website.

"They are important players in our squad and I wish them a speedy recovery. Tom has been with us on several occasions and I am welcoming him back into the fold."

England coach Gary Neville will also join up with the squad later than originally planned, meeting at St George's Park on Thursday after seeing his Valencia side fall to another defeat this weekend.

The Three Lions will travel to Berlin on Friday to take on world champions Germany a day later, before hosting Netherlands at Wembley on Tuesday.