Downing replaces injured Lennon for Euro clash

Stewart Downing was called into the England squad on Saturday ahead of their Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro after Aaron Lennon was ruled out with a sore back.

England coach Fabio Capello turned to Aston Villa winger Downing after tests showed it would take Tottenham star Lennon several days to recover from the back problem that forced him to miss training on Friday.

Lennon, who has not played for England since the World Cup, has returned to Tottenham for further treatment.

He is the second player to pull out of Capello’s squad for the Montenegro clash at Wembley on Tuesday after Everton defender Phil Jagielka was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Downing won the last of his 23 caps against Slovakia in March 2009. He featured in the squad for England’s friendly win over Egypt in March this year, but did not make it into the Italian’s 30-man provisional party for the World Cup in South Africa.

Even without Lennon and Jagielka, England should be confident of victory on Tuesday after making a fine start to their qualifying campaign with back-to-back wins over Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Montenegro, though, go into the match boosted by a 1-0 win over Switzerland on Friday.