News coming out of the England camp has Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson taking the usual suspects – and one surprise – along for the ride with Captain Steven Gerrard, striker Daniel Sturridge Glen Johnson and Jordan Henderson all getting a call from their country. Johnson, who will be making his first appearance for the national team since missing their World Cup qualifiers last month after he picked up an injury in the Reds win against Manchester United, makes an obvious return to the squad, but Henderson comes as a bit of a surprise.
Well, it doesn’t come as too much of a shock to Liverpool fans who watch his immense work rate week in and week out; we know what he’s all about. The rest of the country, on the other hand, might not be as sold on the former Sunderland man as we are. The 23-year old has so far played every minute of every match of Liverpool’s league campaign this season after working his way back into Brendan Rodgers good graces. The versatile midfielder – or wingback, depending on the day – hasn’t featured for the national setup since England’s Quarter Final defeat to Italy at Euro 2012 last summer, but he’s kept his dream of going to the World Cup in Brazil next summer alive and moves one step closer with this call up.
“Everybody wants to play for England and I am no different, said Henderson last month, “But I still have a long way to go to where I want to be. I need to improve.” Although the call-up is only for a pair of friendlies, against Chile and Germany respectively, the Reds man could very well get a shot in the squad with the status of England captain Steven Gerrard unknown. The 32-year old picked up a hip injury, as old people tend to do, at the tail end of Liverpool’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal last weekend and is a doubt for the meeting with Fulham this weekend. If the skipper misses out against the Cottagers, he may not be in top form for England and could do more resting than playing – which, obviously, wouldn’t bother us one bit.
