Source: FOOTYMAD
Dawson joins England squad
The Tottenham Hotspur defender Michael Dawson has arrived in South Africa as replacement for the injured Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand, the Manchester United centre-back, was ruled out of the tournament on Friday night after suffering a knee injury in training. Dawson was cut from England's finals squad at the beginning of this week, after being part of the 30-man squad at a pre-tournament training camp in Austria, but was happy to cancel his holiday plans to rejoin the squad. "It's a crazy game and things can change in a split second," he told Tottenham's official website. "One minute I'm trying to arrange my holiday, then I get a call asking if I was on holiday because Rio had pulled out of training. "I said 'no' and then I was just waiting by the phone before getting a call saying I would be picked up in an hour." Dawson has yet to make his senior England debut, but has 13 U21 caps and played for the England B team twice. "I'll be going out there still having not yet won a senior cap, so where better place to get one if that was to happen? I was planning to watch the first game of the tournament with my friends and family, but now I'm going to be there for real," he added.
