Johnson adds to Hodgson´s injury woes

Sunderland winger Adam Johnson has withdrawn from the England squad with a thigh injury.

The 25-year-old, a new signing for Sunderland after leaving Manchester City in the summer, will now miss the Three Lions’ two World Cup qualifiers, with an away trip to Moldova on Friday followed by a match against Ukraine on Tuesday.

The Football Association confirmed on its official website that the midfielder had undergone a scan on Wednesday before being sent back to his club.

Johnson has been capped 12 times for his country but missed out on Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2012, making the standby list in case of injuries but not being called upon.

Striker Andy Carroll had already been forced to drop out of the England party following an injury picked up in his debut for West Ham.

Hodgson did not call up a replacement forward for the Liverpool loanee, though no word has yet been given as to whether he may choose to send for midfield reinforcement after the blow to Johnson.