Richards may replace injured Neville in England set-up

Gary Neville has been ruled out of England's friendly in Holland on Wednesday - meaning 18-year-old Micah Richards is in line to win his first cap.

Richards will become the youngest defender to play for England if the Manchester City teenager is picked by Steve McClaren to play against the Dutch.

Neville suffered a recurrence of a calf injury during Manchester United's 1-0 Barclays Premiership win at Blackburn this evening and had to be substituted at half-time.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "It's unfortunate, it's a calf muscle injury that keeps recurring. He won't be playing for England on Wednesday unfortunately.

"We left him out of the Copenhagen game in the hope that with a couple of matches off and some good training it would stop recurring - but it has come back again.

"It is a concern and we want to get to the bottom of it, as fluid keeps getting into the muscle.

"We will leave him out for a couple of weeks so we can get him back to the level he needs to get it right."

Neville would have won his 85th cap and moved to within one of Kenny Sansom, the most-capped England full-back.

Speaking about Richards, McClaren said this week: "I've watched him play a number of times and he's a strong, quick and athletic player who has really impressed at Man City this season.

"This match provides us with a great opportunity to have a look at him over the next few days, and he fully deserves his chance."

Meanwhile, McClaren has insisted David Beckham could still be recalled to the national team - but admitted he is more interested in "players that can beat players".

McClaren, under pressure after disappointing performances against Macedonia and Croatia, has again omitted Beckham from his squad for Wednesday's friendly against Holland.

Asked about his decision to leave out the former England captain, McClaren told BBC`s Football Focus: "It's the players that are in the squad that excite me - Aaron Lennon, Joe Cole - players that can beat players."

But he added: "I've said I won't close the door and I still haven't."

McClaren believes he has discovered why the team was so poor in losing to Croatia and dropping points at home to Macedonia.

He has discussed his findings with the players but declined to share them with England fans.

"They were private meetings and they'll remain private," said McClaren.

"We'll do our talking on the pitch."