Young out of England Squad

Luke Young has left the England squad and gone back to Villa Park after picking up a toe injury.

The other news from Fabio Capello’s first training session with his squad was that Shaun Wright-Phillips and Emile Heskey sat out. The pair however, are expected to travel with the team tomorrow ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Spain in Seville. Both players are expected to train tomorrow.

The news from Spain is that Barcelona captain Carles Puyol, has been ruled out of the friendly after picking up a leg injury during his side’s victory over Sporting Gijon. Scans showed the defender is set for ten days on the sidelines. Gerard Pique will now be hoping he can make his Spanish debut.

Another player who is targeting a debut is James Milner. The midfielder has shown fine form at Aston Villa and is not just content with a place in the squad.

“It’s great to be here and you’ve got to go out there in training and prove that you should be here and you want to stay here,” Milner said.

“You always want to keep improving and hopefully I can do that. I’m enjoying my football and hopefully keep improving, keep learning every day.

“To get this call up and to play with the players here is great and it’s up to me to show that I should be here and keep putting in those performances and show that I want to stay.”

The 23 year-old is no stranger to international football having represented his country at various levels. Milner believes this will only help him settle in with the senior side.

“I think it helps a lot. The set-up is made very similar (so) when you do hopefully make the step-up into the full squad it’s not too alien to you and obviously you can settle in quite quickly

“It’s pretty similar to the Under-21s: very professional, and it gives you the best opportunity to go out there and play your best football.”

Milner revealed the team are not taking the friendly lightly as it could provide vital momentum on the road to South Africa.

“People say it’s only a friendly but you want to go out there and win every game and they’re one of the best teams in the world,” Milner said.

“After coming off a good result against Germany it’ll be disappointing not to go and get another win and get that momentum going.”

Rio Ferdinand agrees with Milner. “We have been on good form and we want to keep the performance levels high,” the Manchester United star said.

“After winning in Germany we believe we can beat any team on the planet.

“It will be a massive test for us, especially after what Spain did in the European Championship, and with the players they’ve got they are the best team in Europe if not the world.

“We’ve played France and Germany in our last few games, so to add Spain to that list will definitely be good for us.

“We’ve started well but now we need to continue to build on the good results we’ve had.”

Rio Ferdinand has also revealed his thoughts on how his manager should be judged, claiming the real test of his ability will be how well he does in the European Championships and World Cup.

“He’s (Capello) doing a good job at the moment and long may that continue,” Ferdinand said on Sky Sports News.

“It’s only the start and managers are judged on the tournaments it’s quite cutthroat but that’s the way it is.”

The 30 year-old also mentioned how two new additions to the squad, James Milner and Carlton Cole had settled in well.

“Carlton Cole has been doing very well for West Ham. He is on a rich vein of form and he seems to have a lot of confidence,” he enthused.

“James Milner seems to have been around for a good few years now but he’s still only young. He’s played a lot in the Under-21s and he is taking it all in his stride.”