Billy Jones, the Shrewsbury-born Preston North End defender, will have to wait a little longer to gain his first England under-21 cap after being forced to pull out of the latest squad.
Jones had been called up by Stuart Pearce for tomorrow’s match against Bulgaria at MK Dons and the away clash with Portugal on Tuesday, key games in England’s quest to qualify for the European Championship finals.
But the 20-year-old right back has had to withdraw after suffering a hamstring injury which is likely to keep him sidelined for the next four weeks.
It’s a blow to Jones, a former pupil at Shrewsbury’s Belvidere School, as he had been hoping to build on the experience he gained from his first call-up to the under-21 squad for last month’s double header against Montenegro and the Republic of Ireland.
He didn’t feature in either game but Jones, who is also keen to help managerless Preston climb away from the wrong end of the Championship table, was delighted to be recognised as one of the country’s best young players.
The town of Shrewsbury does still have one representative in the England under-21 squad with goalkeeper Joe Hart, the ex-Gay Meadow favourite, set to add to his collection of seven caps at that level.
Hart continues to attract admiring glances up and down the land after playing the last six Premier League games for Manchester City.
He was named man of the match in last weekend’s goalless draw at Portsmouth live on Sky Sports, his efforts earning rich praise from boss Sven Goran-Eriksson and TV pundits.