Young pulls out of England contention

Charlton right-back Luke Young has withdrawn from England’s standby squad for the World Cup because of an ankle injury.

Young was part of the England party which has been at a training camp in Portugal for the past week.

He joined in full training for the first time on Friday but felt uncomfortable and, after discussions with England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, has decided to pull out.

Young sustained the injury during the latter part of the campaign with the Addicks.

Eriksson is deciding whether to call up a replacement for Young when England reconvene at their base in Hertfordshire on Monday.

But, apart from Wayne Rooney, Eriksson otherwise has a clean bill of health in his squad who travelled back to England tonight.

Young made his debut as a substitute against the host nation during England’s tour of the United States 12 months ago.

Gary Neville’s foot injury meant that he played in five successive internationals during the current campaign – against Wales, Northern Ireland, Austria, Poland and Argentina.