England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce has lost Emmanuel Frimpong and Martin Kelly for the upcoming double-header Azerbaijan and Israel.
Pearce was already searching for a new captain after Phil Jones was called into the senior squad, while on Sunday Manchester United team-mate Danny Welbeck was ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring problem.
Frimpong, who missed Arsenal's 8-2 humiliation at Old Trafford through injury, has now joined Welbeck in withdrawing after receiving his maiden call-up last week.
Kelly lasted just 30 minutes of Liverpool's 3-1 win over Bolton on Saturday and was also forced to pull out of his country's European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Azerbaijan on Thursday and friendly against Israel four days later.
Source: PA
