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Aston Villa attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers is among five players to be called up by Lee Carsley into the England squad, following a spate of withdrawals.
The Three Lions are set to face Greece and Republic of Ireland in the Nations League across the next two weeks, but a total of eight players have pulled out of Carsley’s original squad, meaning more uncapped faces will join the three who were initially selected: Curtis Jones, Lewis Hall and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
All three of those remain involved but Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hamstring injury leaves the Liverpool right-back sidelined, having been a standout performer for England under Carsley. He is joined in exiting the squad by Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
To mitigate the gaps in the squad those departures leave behind, Carsley has added three more uncapped players plus 12-cap West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen and one-cap Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.
Along with Rogers, those also now joining the group and hoping to earn a first cap will be Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.
Branthwaite and Trafford were both part of Gareth Southgate’s initial Euro 2024 pre-tournament squad, before being cut from the final list. Livramento was involved earlier this season with the squad but did not feature, while for Rogers it’s a first call-up at senior level following a terrific campaign so far with Villa.
When asked last week about Rogers not being initially selected, Carsley replied:
“He’s not missing anything, he’s a player I’m really aware of, really important for the Under-21s,” Carsley responded. “We had it in the last campaign, sometimes the competition dictates how quickly you move through the pathway.
“I’ve no doubt he’ll get there. But he’s crucial to the Under-21s, regaining that title and Morgan will be a big part of that.”
Interim boss Carsley also acknowledged he had not spoken to incoming England boss Thomas Tuchel over his selections, with these fixtures being the last before the German takes over.
