EPL News: West Ham’s Carlton Cole Receives England Call Up
Carlton Cole, the West Ham United striker, has received a call up into the England squad to face France this Wednesday. Since Andy Carroll and Gabriel Agbonlahor are unavailable, picking up injuries with Newcastle United and Aston Villa,
respectively, Cole will be their replacement in the England squad. The Football Association confirmed that the 27-year-old striker has been drafted into the team as an extra option in attack.
The last of Cole’s seven England caps were as a second half substitute against Egypt in March, this weekend he only played 19 minutes for West Ham on Saturday against Blackpool. Carroll played the entire game for Newcastle against Fulham,
which ended 0-0, and came very close to scoring and suffered a groin injury during the process. The club confirmed on the official website that the player will report to duty and will be examined by the England team doctors.
The Villa player Agbonlahor’s first game since September 26th came against Manchester United this Saturday, the match ended 2-2. He missed the better part of two months following a groin operation; however, he picked
up a knock on Saturday and had to be withdrawn after 78 minutes. The minor injury over the weekend makes Agbonlahor doubtful for the fixture against France; though it’s obvious the Villa striker would have loved to represent his country.
Carroll received his first call up to the senior squad by Fabio Capello on Saturday; the 21-year-old has been impressive for his club. He has scored seven goals for Newcastle so far and has earned praise for his style of play. However,
the player is currently on bail after he was charged with assault, his selection into the England squad had to be approved by Adrian Bevington, the Club England managing director, with Capello guaranteeing to help the youngster.
Capello relayed that he understood Carroll’s situation and he said that the youngster would learn from the senior members of the England squad. He spoke to reporters in a press conference after his selection, he said, “Everybody
makes mistakes when they are young. It is very important for him to be in the seniors because we have a lot of important players, who can stay with him and speak with him about what happens outside the pitch. That is important.”
Fabio Capello is already facing an injury crisis; star striker Wayne Rooney has ruled himself out with an ankle injury. Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora are also out, Defoe has an injury and Zamora has a broken leg. With three of the first
choice strikers out, there is no doubt Capello called up Agbonlahor and Carroll. Unfortunately, they also picked up injuries over the weekend and will most likely be unavailable for the clash against France.
Kevin Davies received his debut in the national team in last month’s 2012 Euro qualifiers against Montenegro. However the 33-year-old was left out this time around despite being in good form for Bolton, Cardiff’s Jay Bothroyd was preferred
over him. Peter Crouch is the other striker in England squad; the Tottenham forward scored his first league goal since May this Saturday against Blackburn. He seems to be improving and Capello has taken note of it.
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