- Interim England manager Gareth Southgate has named his first squad
- Sam Allardyce lost his job last week after an undercover newspaper sting
- Wayne Rooney retains his place as Marcus Rashford earns a recall
- Uncapped Jesse Lingard also earns a senior call-up from Southgate
- Glen Johnson has not played for England since the 2014 World Cup
- England face Malta and Slovenia in World Cup qualifier double-header
Glen Johnson was handed a shock England recall on Sunday night as Gareth Southgate announced his first squad.
Jesse Lingard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ryan Bertrand were also called up by Southgate, but it was the re-introduction of Johnson that was the major surprise.
The former Liverpool full back has 54 caps, but hasn’t played for England since the World Cup loss to Uruguay in June 2014 and has only played in three Premier League matches this season following a seven-month layoff with injury.
But he has been handed an unexpected return to the international fold for World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia with Liverpool right back Nathaniel Clyne unavailable with a knee injury.
Johnson will almost certainly be understudy to Tottenham’s Kyle Walker, who is England’s first choice on the right side of defence.
Lingard has been rewarded for his encouraging start to the season at Manchester United. The 23-year-old was named in England’s squad to face France in a friendly last year, but did not play.
There is also a place for Arsenal forward Oxlade-Chamberlain after injury ruled him out of Euro 2016.
As anticipated Marcus Rashford has replaced injured Tottenham striker Harry Kane, while Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater is injured so misses out.
There was no place for Everton midfielder Ross Barkley or Bournemouth’s Jack Wilshere. Southgate made a personal check on Barkley against Crystal Palace on Friday night, while assistant Sammy Lee watched Wilshere against Watford on Saturday.
West Ham forward Michail Antonio, who was handed a shock first call-up by Allardyce, keeps his place.
Adam Lallana misses out after suffering a groin injury in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Swansea and will have a scan today to determine how long he faces on the sidelines amid fears he could miss the vital clash against Manchester United on October 17.
Middlesbrough centre back Ben Gibson will have to wait for his first-call-up, but was close to a being selected.
Sportsmail can reveal FA chiefs enquired about the 23-year-old’s availability on Saturday night.
The FA view Gibson as the best emerging left-footed English central defender in the Premier League at the moment.
‘We’ve tried to keep some continuity from last month because my view would be that there are a lot of things that have been going right,’ said Southgate.
‘We’ve had a few people unavailable through injury like Harry Kane and Jack Butland, and we’ve lost a couple over the weekend in Danny Drinkwater, Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne while Luke Shaw isn’t quite back fit yet.
‘It’s obviously been a difficult week in a number of ways, however we are in a position now where it’s important to get the squad named.
‘I’m looking forward now to working with the players because it’s important that we build on the performance and the result against Slovakia.’
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Forster, Hart, Heaton
Defenders: Bertrand, Cahill, Jagielka, Johnson, Rose, Smalling, Stones, Walker
Midfielders: Dier, Henderson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Antonio, Lingard, Sterling, Walcott, Alli
Attackers: Rooney, Rashford, Sturridge, Vardy