Woody together with Sol Campbell (whose injury is widely rumoured to be sulking about his recent FA Charge) have been sent home to continue with their rehabilitation work and replaced in the squad by Birmingham City’s Matthew Upson, which must have come as a surprise to Middlesborough’s Gareth Southgate.
There is no suggestion that Woody will miss the game with Manchester United on Saturday, although Shola Ameobi is a doubt after pulling out of the England Under-21 squad with a swollen knee.
Meanwhile Shay Given is unlikely to feature on Tuesday’s Republic of Ireland friendly against Australia as manager Brian Kerr intends to start with Stockport County’s Nick Colgan, as he is concerned that since Dean Kiely’s retirement Shay is the only goalkeeper in the squad with any international experience.