Tuesday May 23 2006 07:55
Everton's utility man Phil Neville has been drafted onto England's standby list for the World Cup Finals in Germany after Nigel Reo-Coker was forced to withdraw from the squad with a persistent back problem.
The West ham United captain was forced to miss training on Monday and it was decided later decided that he should pull out of the squad completely.
The 29-year-old Neville, who has won 52 caps for his country, has been told to report for training with Sven Goran Eriksson's squad in Hertfordshire on Tuesday morning.
He joins Scott Carson, Michael Dawson, Jermain Defoe and Andrew Johnson on the stand-by list in case any of the main 23-man squad are injured.
Neville, who last played for England almost exactly one year ago in the international friendly win against Colombia, moved to Everton from Manchester United last August in a £3.5million deal.
He went on to play in 34 Premiership games for David Moyes' side in his first season at Goodison Park.
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