Hodgson excited by young prospects

Roy Hodgson has welcomed the inclusion of uncapped duo Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling for England’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

With Theo Walcott and Daniel Sturridge battling illness, England manager Hodgson called on Southampton midfielder Lallana and Liverpool winger Sterling ahead of Tuesday’s clash at Wembley.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jake Livermore, who has one international cap to his name, was also brought in.

“It is good, when you have a chance, to get these players around for a short period of time,” Hodgson told reporters on Monday.

“I have watched Adam in Southampton and I’ve known about him for some while.

“With Raheem, I met him a few years ago at Liverpool and of course in the last few years he has come on in leaps and bounds. This was a chance to bring him into the group.

“It’s very good for us to have these obvious talents coming through and succeeding when they break onto the scene.”

Arsenal midfielder Walcott was withdrawn from the squad, though Chelsea forward Sturridge remains hopeful of taking on Ukraine.

“Theo has picked up some sort of virus,” Hodgson said.

“He was violently ill last night but Daniel actually trained and got through the session.

“(But) today, he woke up with the same sort of stomach cramps, so we were advised to keep him out of training.

“We called up the extra players just in case. We hope they are isolated cases with the two players.”

England accounted for Moldova 5-0 in their opening 2014 World Cup qualifier on Friday.