© EuroFootball.com
The most productive player of the English Premier League, Andrew Johnson, suffered an ankle ligament injury in the final minutes of Saturday's match against Man City, and as a result, on October 7th, at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium, the player will miss the match against Macedonia, and four days later the team will not travel to Zagreb to play against Croatia.
At the beginning of this summer, Everton acquired A. Johnson from the lower division team Crystal Palace for £8.6 million, and the lively striker has already scored 6 times in seven played matches in the Premier League.
The injured player will be replaced by Charlton's attacking leader Darren Bent, who initially was not in Steve McClaren's list of invited players and had to play for England's U-21 youth team.
"It's a huge loss because this season, while wearing Everton's shirt, Andrew has shown really good form and I have been impressed by him," said England's national team coach Steve McClaren - "It's a comfort that we can call up Darren Bent from the youth team. He already has a lot of playing experience and is a player who can threaten the opponent's goal."
The coach also revealed that Middlesbrough's newcomer Jonathan Woodgate is close to being called up to the national team. The 26-year-old player has represented England only 5 times and last wore the national team jersey in March 2006. This summer, the 26-year-old defender was loaned to Middlesbrough from Real Madrid, as he was plagued by constant injuries in the royal club and rarely appeared on the field.
"He is one of those players we need," said the coach, despite the fact that the defender did not make it to the team in the 2008 European Championship qualifying matches against Macedonia and Croatia. - "He plays well, but his game is limited, and during the season, he should improve his physical fitness."
