Eriksson calls up quartet for England get-together
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Your support makes all the difference.Sven Goran Eriksson, the England coach, last night called up Jamie Carragher, Phil Neville, Ugo Ehiogu and Ledley King for the England squad's get-together in Hertfordshire.
Carragher, the Liverpool full-back, replaces Danny Mills after the Leeds defender pulled out for personal reasons, while Neville comes in for his brother and Manchester United team-mate Gary, who pulled a thigh muscle in training on Thursday and will be out of action for up to three weeks.
Rio Ferdinand, who is expected to be out for a similar period with a torn thigh muscle, is replaced by the Middlesbrough centre-half Ehiogu and Tottenham's King stands in for Jonathan Woodgate, who pulled out with injury after Leeds' 4-2 home defeat by Bolton.
The England captain, David Beckham, who is also out for three weeks with cracked ribs, will attend the get-together despite being excused from having to report. He will take part in the meetings and tactical analysis on Tuesday before the England squad attend a reception with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in the evening.
Nicky Butt will not meet up with the party as he continues treatment on his ankle injury but other players who might be carrying injuries, including the Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman, will be expected to attend the get-together at Champneys Health Resort.
England's next match is a friendly against Australia in February at Upton Park.
Wales have Euro 2004 qualifier arranged for Wednesday and their squad has been hit by inuried that their manager, Mark Hughes, tried to avoid by invoking the four-day rule. He was told he could not, because the day was designated for friendlies, and he has suffered with Robbie Savage joining the injured list. Already out of the trip to Baku were Craig Bellamy, Jason Koumas, Andy Johnson, Mark Pembridge, Gareth Taylor and Nathan Blake.
Hughes has now called up the Reading defender Adrian Williams and the Wigan striker Neil Roberts. At least Manchester United's Ryan Giggs has joined up with the squad along with Fulham's Andy Melville, despite having two stitches in a head injury after the Reds' draw with West Ham. Simon Davies hopes to wipe away the shock of the first red card of his life, against Arsenal, by helping inspire Wales to another memorable victory.
Brian Kerr, the Football Association of Ireland's technical director, has said that he would be happy to succeed Mick McCarthy as manager of the national side if approached about the job.
Since McCarthy's resignation, a number of external candidates, including John Aldridge, Bryan Robson, Joe Kinnear and Kenny Dalglish, have been linked with the post. Kerr is viewed by bookmakers as an outsider.
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