England call for Foster

Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has been called into the England squad for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus as a replacement for the suspended Robert Green.

Foster originally missed out on selection after being sent for scans on bruised ribs sustained in Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League encounter with Sunderland last weekend.

However, at the time it was viewed by many as little more than a convenient excuse for England boss Fabio Capello to sideline the 26-year-old, who had been blamed for Kenwyne Jones’ second-half header for the Black Cats, just two weeks after he was held responsible for two Manchester City goals in the pulsating 4-3 derby win at Old Trafford.

But, with Green ruled out of Wednesday’s game following his dismissal in Saturday’s defeat to Ukraine, Capello has opted to show faith in Foster, who has been cleared to join up with the England camp after scans revealed nothing untoward.

It is ironic that Foster should benefit from someone else’s absence, given the number of times he has had to pull out of international squads himself as a result of various inuries.

For Green, serving a one-match ban will be a painful experience after he started the last seven internationals under Capello.

Eager to make an impression following the recall of David James, the West Ham goalkeeper lasted just 15 minutes at the Dnipro Arena before he brought down Artem Milevskiy after a mistake from Rio Ferdinand.

Initially, it seemed Ferdinand would take the punishment when he was shown the red card by referee Damir Skomina, which frustrated Capello intensely.

However, after consultation with fourth official Darko Ceferin, the decision was eventually reversed with Green the man correctly dismissed.