Crystal Palace's Andros Townsend called up to England squad as Raheem Sterling withdraws through injury

Vaishali Bhardwaj4 October 2016

Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has been called up to the England squad as a replacement for the injured Raheem Sterling, the FA have confirmed.

Manchester City forward Sterling was forced to withdraw from Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia after sustaining an injury in the club's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.

Townsend, who joined Palace from Newcastle in a £13million deal this summer, will replace Sterling after impressing for the Eagles this season.

The 25-year-old, who has 11 caps and three England goals to his name, scored in Palace's 4-1 win over Stoke City last month and could now feature for the Three Lions when they host Malta on Saturday before travelling to take on Slovenia next Tuesday.

Townsend last featured for England in the nation's pre-Euro 2016 friendlies against Turkey and Austrlia, and becomes the first Palace player to earn a senior call-up since Wilfried Zaha in November 2012.

He will now join up with his international teammates at St. George’s Park on Tuesday.

England squad

Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Torino, loan from Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Stoke City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Slovakia vs England: In Pictures

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Midfielders: Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

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