England coach Sven Goran Eriksson has resisted the temptation to call Wayne Rooney into his squad to face Croatia at Portman Road on Wednesday night. Rooney came on as a second half substitute for Everton in their 2-1 defeat against Arsenal on Saturday, but Toffees boss David Moyes made it clear that the teenager was not fit enough to feature for England following his recent injury problems.
"If Wayne was fit I'd have started him on Saturday," said Moyes. "Instead, I think he needs a weeks football with me and then a reserve game on Wednesday night. He's had a slight groin strain in pre-season and missed out a bit, and then picked up a foot injury that kept him out for three or four weeks. He's done quite a lot of running but no football and I feel he would be better suited with two or three days working with us."
Rooney's absence from the squad, and the injury to Darius Vassell, has left Eriksson with just three recognised strikers - Liverpool pair Michael Owen and Emile Heskey along with Southampton's James Beattie.
Eriksson has also omitted Gareth Southgate, Matthew Upson and Jermaine Jenas, but Chelsea's John Terry and Newcastle's Jonathan Woodgate have both been recalled. Skipper David Beckham also returns to the fold after missing the Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovakia in June because of suspension.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the re-call for Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland, who returns to the international scene after almost seven months out of the game with knee ligament damage. Kirkland has only featured in pre-season warm-up friendly matches for the Reds and has yet to play a competitive first-team game for the Reds.
The 22-year-old established himself as Liverpool's first-choice keeper in the early part of last season but then damaged his knee in a challenge with Crystal Palace striker Dele Adebola back in January. Kirkland's call-up, along with West Ham's David James and Leeds United's Paul Robinson, means that there is no place in the for David Seaman, who won the last of his 75 international caps against Macedonia last October.
Bayern Munich's Owen Hargreaves remains the only injury doubt for Wednesday's game, after suffering a groin injury at the weekend. The versatile 22-year-old was expected to start the game at right back, after Danny Mills recently lost his place in the Leeds United first team and the continued absence of Gary Neville. If Hargreaves is ruled out through injury Phil Neville could replace him.
THE ENGLAND SQUAD
David James (West Ham), Paul Robinson (Leeds), Chris Kirkland (Liverpool), Danny Mills (Leeds), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Phil Neville (Manchester United), Jonathan Woodgate (Newcastle), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Nicky Butt (Manchester United), David Beckham (Real Madrid), Paul Scholes (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Trevor Sinclair (Man City), Danny Murphy (Liverpool), James Beattie (Southampton), Michael Owen (Liverpool), Emile Heskey (Liverpool).
