Source: Daily_Mail
Injury-plagued King and Baines receive shock England call-ups
Ledley King was a surprise inclusion last night in Fabio Capello's England 24-man squad for Saturday's friendly against Slovakia and the World Cup qualifier with Ukraine four days later.Capello has long had concerns over the injury-prone Tottenham defender's ability to withstand the stress of a tournament after being dogged by a debilitating problem in his right knee.But King's recent form for Spurs has made it impossible for Capello to ignore the 28-year-old and the England boss is prepared to gamble. However, King's call-up will raise eyebrows as his injury problems are so acute he no longer trains with the Spurs squad and is unable to play more than one match a week. [LNB] Back on top: Ledley King gets the better of Chelsea's Didier Drogba[LNB] [LNB] Spurs star King admits he still dreams of playing for England despite knee woe[LNB]Berbatov to miss World Cup qualifiers as ankle injury rules him out for two weeks[LNB]Liverpool 5 Aston Villa 0: Gerrard hits hat trick as Rafa's rampant Reds put pressure on United[LNB][LNB]King has played just four games in two years for England and last represented his country in the 3-0 win over Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifier in 2007.Everton defender Leighton Baines has been called up by Capello for the first time after catching the eye and will act as understudy to Chelsea's Ashley Cole. Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster is in for the first time since Capello took charge to add to the one cap he earned more than two years ago against Spain.Capello usually ignores players who are not first-team regulars but the 25-year-old's display for United in the Carling Cup final win over Spurs has persuaded the Italian to make an exception. Spurs winger Aaron Lennon, who won the last of his nine caps against Andorra two years ago, is also in the squad as Theo Walcott is out with a knee injury.Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard return for the first time since England beat Belarus in October and Rio Ferdinand is fit after missing last month's defeat in Spain. But Aston Villa pair Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor miss out.[LNB]England squad for matches against Slovakia and Ukraine:Foster (Man Utd), Green (West Ham), James (Portsmouth); Baines (Everton), ACole (Chelsea) Ferdinand (Man Utd), Jagielka (Everton), Johnson (Portsmouth),King (Tottenham), Lescott (Everton), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham); Barry(Aston Villa), Beckham (LA Galaxy), Carrick (Man Utd), Downing (Middlesbrough),Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Wright-Phillips (ManCity); C Cole (West Ham), Crouch (Portsmouth), Heskey (Aston Villa), Rooney (ManUtd). [LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
