Sunderland’s Danny Welbeck called into England squad

Sunderland striker Danny Welbeck has been called up to the England squad for Tuesday’s international friendly against Ghana at Wembley.

The 20-year-old forward, who is on loan at the Black Cats from Manchester United, joins the squad in place of the injured Spurs winger Aaron Lennon.

Lennon felt a twinge in his hamstring after England training on Monday.

England boss Fabio Capello is expected to make “about seven changes” to the team which beat Wales on Saturday.

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry will captain the side after newly-appointed skipper John Terry was one of six players rested for the first international fixture against the Black Stars.

Terry’s fellow Chelsea team-mates Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole have also been released, as well as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Tottenham’s Michael Dawson.

Aston Villa’s Kyle Walker returned to his club with an injury problem.

Welbeck scored a fine goal for the England Under-21s in their 4-0 win over Denmark on Thursday, but was then released from the squad by boss Stuart Pearce before their 2-1 defeat by Iceland on Monday night.

He has had a good season for Sunderland, scoring six times including a goal during the memorable 3-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but he was hit by a knee injury in January.

If Welbeck does feature for England, he could come up against Sunderland team-mate Asamoah Gyan, who is set to play up front for Ghana.

Capello said on Monday that he would start with Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and would also select Manchester City keeper Joe Hart in goal with Everton’s Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Bolton’s Gary Cahill in defence.

The Italian also indicated West Ham midfielder Scott Parker would play if he shrugged off a minor injury, following a sure-footed display in the 2-0 win over Wales in Cardiff last weekend.

Source: BBC