adminBURTON-ON-TRENT. — Burnley defender Michael Keane earned his first England call-up yesterday after Stoke’s Glen Johnson was ruled out through injury. Johnson’s absence due to an unspecified injury means Keane is rewarded for a fine start to the season and he will meet up with the rest of the England squad ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.England interim manager Gareth Southgate knows Keane well from his time as coach of the national Under-21 team and took the centre-back to last year’s European Championships in the Czech Republic.
The 23-year-old’s inclusion comes as a result of a setback for former Liverpool right-back Johnson, who was a surprise inclusion in Southgate’s 23-man squad having not featured for his country since the 2014 World Cup.
Johnson is the second England star to be sidelined by injury before the qualifiers after Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling’s calf complaint saw him replaced by Andros Townsend on Monday.
Southgate hinted on Monday that he will ask captain Wayne Rooney to continue playing in midfield for his country.
Rooney (30) has started Manchester United’s last three games on the bench amid an ongoing debate about the best place for him to play as his physical powers wane.
Both club manager Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce, Southgate’s short-lived predecessor, announced plans to deploy him as a number 10, although they then used him in more withdrawn midfield roles.
“I don’t want to go against Jose, but I think Wayne can play any number of different positions,” said Southgate, who has kept faith with Rooney as captain.
“The only thing I would say is I go back to one of the things we work on with the team: in and out of possession, tactical discipline, positional discipline.
“So whatever position you play, it is clear to the players that they understand that fully.”
Rooney, England’s record scorer (53 goals) and most-capped outfield player (116 caps), played in midfield under Roy Hodgson during England’s ill-fated Euro 2016 campaign.
Mourinho subsequently vowed Rooney would “never” play for him in midfield, but he has featured there at times for United this season.
Allardyce also expressed an intention to use Rooney further forward, but the former Everton player conspicuously took up deep-lying positions during last month’s 1-0 win in Slovakia. — AFP.
Online Reporter