Ben Gibson drafted into England squad

Friday 24 Mar 2017
Gibson played for Gareth Southgate during their England Under-21 days

Ben Gibson has been called up to the England squad for the first time.

The Middlesbrough defender, who has made ten appearances for the Under-21s, has been drafted in following an injury to Chris Smalling.

Smalling has returned to Manchester United, while Gary Cahill – who is suspended for Sunday’s game against Lithuania – has also departed the camp.

The Three Lions trained in Hertfordshire on Friday morning having returned to the country the previous evening, following their narrow defeat by Germany.

Gibson will take part in Saturday’s session at Tottenham Hotspur’s training base, where Gareth Southgate will also speak to the media.

England take on Lithuania in a 2018 World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. There are still a limited number of tickets available from TheFA.com/Tickets.

Updated squad: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, on loan from Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Michael Keane (Burnley), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Jake Livermore (West Bromwich Albion), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Nathan Redmond (Southampton), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

By Jim Lucas