Stoke City's Glen Johnson surprise inclusion in England squad

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 02 October 2016

Gareth Southgate recalls five players to England's latest squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia, including a surprise call-up for Glen Johnson.

Glen Johnson has been named in Gareth Southgate's first squad as interim England manager for the upcoming World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.

The Stoke City full-back has not featured for the Three Lions since 2014 and has been restricted to just three Premier League appearances for the Potters this term due to an injury picked up during pre-season.

Injuries to Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw have forced Southgate to turn to Johnson, however, in one of five changes from the first - and last - squad named by ex-manager Sam Allardyce last month.

Attacking Manchester United duo Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford are also included in the 23-man party, with the latter stepping up from Under-21s duty after scoring a hat-trick on his debut at that level.

Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also makes the cut for the double-header against Malta and Slovenia, as England look to build on last month's 1-0 victory over Slovakia in their opening qualifying fixture.

Midfielders Lallana and Danny Drinkwater, of Liverpool and Leicester City respectively, both miss out due to injuries picked up this weekend on club duty.

Southgate will take charge of the Three Lions' remaining four fixtures this calendar year following Allardyce's dismissal earlier this week for making comments on circumnavigating the rules on third-party ownership.

England squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, on loan from Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Stoke), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Michail Antonio (West Ham), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester)