England News

• Nickname:Three Lions
• Founded: 1872
• Manager:Roy Hodgson

• Ground:Wembley Stadium
• Capacity:90,000

Bent wins England call-up

02 Oct 2006 - 13:03:28

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Charlton Athletic striker Darren Bent will team up with the rest of the England squad on Tuesday after Andy Johnson picked up a hamstring injury.

Johnson has been forced to withdraw from the squad after sustaining the problem in the closing stages of Everton's 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Saturday.

"Andy's out of the games against Macedonia and Croatia with a hamstring injury," England head coach Steve McClaren told the FA's official website.

"It's a real blow because he's made a massive impact already with Everton this season and I've been hugely impressed by him. He's got such a great attitude and is a constant threat to any defence.

"He was certainly knocking very hard on the door for a place in the team, so it's a disappointment to lose him.

"However, I've spoken to Peter Taylor and I can confirm that Darren Bent will now join the senior squad when we meet on Tuesday.

"We're fortunate that we're able to call Darren up from the Under-21's. He's already got experience of been involved in several senior squads and he's a player with excellent ability and a real goal threat."