Roy Hodgson has left Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge out of the latest England squad to play the final two Euro 2016 qualifying fixtures against Estonia and Lithuania.
Sturridge has recently returned from long term injury and Hodgson agreed with his manager Brendan Rodgers that the striker should be given more time to continue his road to full match fitness at Anfield following a hip injury.
England have already qualified for the finals after winning every tie in their group so far and Hodgson is likely to use at least one of the remaining qualifiers to experiment with fringe players.
Two players were promoted from England’s U21 set-up for the first time. Liverpool striker Danny Ings has scored twice since arriving from Burnley in the summer and Spurs midfielder Dele Alli has been an instant success since joining in the summer after a period on loan at MK Dons last season.
Injuries to key players such as Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Luke Shaw have also meant changes to the squad this time.
Shaw suffered a double leg break in Manchester United’s Champions League tie at PSV Eindhoven in September and Hodgson admitted that the former Southampton full back had a strong chance to be “the best left-back in the tournament” before his unfortunate injury.
Jack Grealish is another player to miss out on the squad this time, with Hodgson claiming that he was “pleased” that the Aston Villa midfielder had chosen to play for England but warned him that he would not be an automatic pick for future squads.
Not even Hodgson’s captain, Wayne Rooney, is sure of his place in the team, according to the England manager.
Rooney, who has had a mixed start to his Manchester United season despite scoring a record 50th goal for his country, has claimed that he will never retire from England duty but the 29 year old knows that the door to future England squads will not always be open.
Hodgson said: “I have been in football a long time and Wayne Rooney has been in football a long time. He would regard me as someone who is very false if I ever said to him: ‘Your place is guaranteed’.
“He would not expect it and I would be very upset anyway if anyone asked me to give them a guarantee of a place. No one else has ever done it and I would take umbrage if that day ever arrived.”
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton)
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Forwards: Danny Ings (Liverpool), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)