Source: SKY_Sports
Pearce eases Theo concerns
Stuart Pearce believes Theo Walcott would be ready to step into the senior England squad if required next week after picking up a minor injury on Friday.
Walcott turned out for Pearce's Under-21 side against Macedonia at the Ricoh Arena but was substituted at half-time with a dead leg.
There were fears for the Arsenal forward's fitness as he has only recently returned to action following a lengthy lay-off with a back problem, but Pearce maintains that it was just a precautionary measure to make the change.
"He got a dead leg when he bumped into Andy Carroll but he will be fine," said the Under-21 manager.
"I can't see it lasting too long, I would have thought after the weekend he would OK.
"But obviously with his injury record early in the season, the physios thought it was prudent to bring him off the pitch.
"We've looked after him more than probably the injury entails."
Passion
Pearce feels there is a possibility Walcott could be called into Fabio Capello's squad for Wednesday's clash with Belarus at Wembley.
He said: "If they don't have any injuries in Ukraine then I would have thought Fabio will go with the same squad.
"If they cop a few injuries then it will be a situation to have a look at him, if Fabio so wishes.
"I know Theo and I know what he's like and the passion he's got to represent his country.
"If there's an opportunity there I'm sure he will do everything he could to be available."
Learning
England Under-21s shrugged off the withdrawal of Walcott to beat Macedonia 6-3 in their latest European Championship qualifier and Pearce is happy with how his new crop of youngsters is progressing.
"They're getting to know each other as men of a group, they're also getting to know myself and the coaching staff with the more games that go by," said Pearce.
"At this level we have to win and you have to keep winning matches while you're getting to know people.
"There's a lot of new faces in this squad and we're gelling as a team and getting to know what we want as a team together.
"I think everyone will learn from this week and the important thing is we got three points."
He continued: "There's a lot of positives to be taken, one or two disappointments with the goals we conceded, but we've picked up three points and we've got six goals which might be important with the goal average at the end."
