Roy Hodgson Saved Daniel Sturridge Decision by Easy Nature of England Opposition

It was who was missing, not who was included, that made the headlines when Roy Hodgson announced his latest England squad, this time to face San Marino and Estonia in Euro 2016 qualifying.

Southampton full-back Nathaniel Clyne was awarded his first Three Lions call-up as Swansea midfielder Jonjo Shelvey made his return to the senior squad after a two-year exile, but it was the absence of striker Daniel Sturridge from the 21-man official list that really caught the eye when it was submitted on Thursday afternoon.

Sturridge has not played for Liverpool since picking up a thigh injury during England training six weeks ago, although it is believed he is closing in on a return to first-team action.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers famously criticised Hodgson’s handling of the striker on that occasion, in effect blaming him for the injury after asking him to train just two days after a match, leading to the slightly odd situation where Rodgers had already unilaterally ruled his striker out of consideration this time around.

"He won't be in the squad. It's the best for both parties really," Rodgers said, per the BBC, after Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Basel. “In the next few weeks he has to get up to speed and at the end of the international break he will hopefully be ready to play for us, which is the priority."

Hodgson could have risked the ire of the Northern Irishman and picked Sturridge anyway but, perhaps sensibly, decided not to when the time came on Thursday.

“It’s a great blow to us,” Hodgson said, denying an lingering resentment between the parties involved. “It has been a blow for Liverpool, of course, and a blow for the player.

“Injuries happen and we all accept it. There are no problems or conflict there at all.”

That seems an optimistic assessment, with Rodgers clearly still rankled by the way his No. 9 was treated—Liverpool’s form since that time not helping in that regard.

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It appears possible that Sturridge could play some part against West Brom this weekend, but then not be available for his national team the week after.

Hodgson said he would be “surprised” if that unusual situation occurred, but perhaps the mediocre nature of the opposition—along with Danny Welbeck’s continued emergence—has persuaded the experienced coach that leaving himself open to that potential embarrassment is a better option than risking anything that might antagonise Liverpool and Rodgers further.

If England had been facing Spain and France, for example, one wonders if he might have taken a different tack.

As Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock, who decided to allow Joe Ledley to be available for Wales in similar circumstances last month, told reporters on Thursday: “In Roy’s case, no offence but I think we should be able to beat San Marino. Heck, Crystal Palace should beat San Marino.”

The omission of Sturridge could be taken as an acceptance of responsibility (even guilt) on the part of Hodgson, but when asked about it he refused to accept even the suggestion that he had acted negligently with the striker—simply saying that at international level there was not the time required to let every player have a tailored training program, with Sturridge needed on the training pitch last month as he was a key element of a tactical approach Hodgson wanted to implement in the game against Switzerland.

“The last thing you want is injuries in training, perhaps more so as a national team manager as you feel a responsibility [to the clubs],” Hodgson said. “But if I was under pressure in future to give players two days off then there would be no training at all, quite frankly. We don’t have enough time pre-match and post-match to have two-day recoveries.”

There were further notable absences on Thursday, with Hodgson deciding not to use his full allocation of 23 players. Calum Chambers and Luke Shaw will instead both start the week with the Under-21s, who face Croatia in a Euro 2015 play-off.

With only six defenders—including Clyne—in the senior squad, Chambers will be first in line if Hodgson needs an extra body. For now, helping the Under-21s reach a major tournament has been identified as the best plan of action (perhaps the reason Saido Berahino has not been named in the senior squad this time).

“As far as I’m concerned they belong to the senior squad,” Hodgson said of the two former Southampton prodigies. “I will have to reserve the right if anything happens, to bring back in [Chambers].

“I’ve made it clear to everybody that players, especially when they are young, when they break into the first team squad in some way that does not give them an automatic right to always be there.”

That gives Clyne a great opportunity to make an immediate impression, as the only natural right-back in the squad (John Stones could yet fill the role, as he did last month). Hodgson claimed to have been monitoring the Southampton full-back from well before the World Cup, even if many believe the call-up to be long overdue.

“He’s impressed us for quite a while,” the coach said. “And now we’ve lost Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker, we were looking for someone else who could be a very interesting candidate for the right-back post.”

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Shelvey’s return—“He’s there on merit because of a) his form and b) the qualities he brings”—offers another passing option in midfield, but Hodgson’s squad remains noticeable in its lack of a true defensive midfielder. Without Sturridge the squad is similarly light in attack, with only Welbeck (who was erroneously listed as a Manchester United player on the official squad sheet), Rickie Lambert and Wayne Rooney included.

Lambert is one of four Liverpool players named in the 21, with Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson also included. Rodgers will presumably be keeping a close eye on all of those, eager to ensure Hodgson does not repeat past mistakes and send one of them back to Melwood with a long-term injury..

San Marino and Estonia are unlikely to take advantage of any of the glaring weaknesses within this England squad. Going forward, repairing—or at least salvaging—a working relationship with Rodgers might be the best thing that can come out of this international break for Hodgson.

All quotes transcribed from Sky Sports' live broadcast of Hodgson's press conference, unless stated.