England Call-Up Andros Townsend To Replace Raheem Sterling Ahead Of Malta And Slovenia Clashes

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Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has been called up to Gareth Southgate’s first England squad to replace Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, who has withdrawn through injury, 90min reports.

There's been an update to the #ThreeLions squad to face Malta and Slovenia:

➡️ @andros_townsend (@CPFC)
⬅️ @sterling7 (@ManCity) pic.twitter.com/PE3U3Blpmn

— England (@England) October 3, 2016

Townsend has found his way back into the team for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia, and appears for the first time since the pre-Euro 2016 friendlies against Turkey and Australia.

The initial squad was announced on Sunday night by Southgate after Sam Allardyce’s departure last week, with inclusions for youthful Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.

West Ham’s Michail Antonio, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Stoke’s Glen Johnson also find themselves included.

City issued a short statement on Monday evening stating that Sterling had withdrawn due to injury, and it’s an opportunity missed for the in-form attacker, who has scored five goals in 10 appearances for City this term.

England face Malta on Saturday, before travelling to Slovenia next Tuesday.