Pickford and Cresswell handed England call-ups

Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell have been handed England call-ups for Friday’s clash with Scotland.

Interim manager Gareth Southgate had been hoping to avoid injury withdrawals after his 25-man squad reported for duty at St George’s Park on Monday but a handful of players required assessment, with Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater and Southampton keeper Fraser Forster deemed unfit.

The pair have withdrawn from the Wembley double header, with a prestige friendly against Spain following four days after the Scotland game, but the continued presence of Tottenham trio Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose is good news for Southgate.

Cresswell, 26, is a first-time addition to the Three Lions set-up and the fact that he is not a like-for-like replacement for Drinkwater suggests that concerns may still exist over Rose or his fellow left-back Ryan Bertrand.

Pickford, whose stock has risen despite the Black Cats’ troubled start to the season, was due to play for the under-21s in matches against Italy and France but has instead been promoted to cover Joe Hart and Tom Heaton.