The uncapped Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has been called up to the England squad to replace his injured club-mate Fraser Forster for Sunday’s opening World Cup qualifier in Slovakia.
Forster, who had been expected to challenge Joe Hart for a starting place in the game in Trnava as Sam Allardyce oversees his first match in charge, has returned to his club for treatment on a minor arm injury sustained in training. Hart, recently transferred to Torino on a season-long loan, will start the game, with Burnley’s Tom Heaton acting as his backup. The England Under-21s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, might have been considered to provide cover for the pair but has returned to Sunderland with a slight thigh strain.
McCarthy has three under-21 caps and was called up to the squad who played the Republic of Ireland and Brazil in friendlies in 2013. Yet, after making his name at Reading, the 26-year-old has found his opportunities limited at club level. He made only two Premier League starts in his only season at Queens Park Rangers and seven last year at Crystal Palace. He left Selhurst Park for Southampton in a £4m deal this summer and is now Forster’s understudy, working with the former England goalkeeping coach Dave Watson, at St Mary’s. He has yet to play.
Allardyce has brought in the former Wales coach Martyn Margetson to work with the goalkeepers and has expressed concern over the lack of options at his disposal. “Joe’s not been playing and Jack Butland’s injured,” he said last week, before Hart left Manchester City. “There’s only Fraser who’s playing at Southampton on a regular basis. That’s a bit of a dilemma for me.”
It is unclear whether West Bromwich Albion’s Ben Foster has declared himself unavailable or not for selection but the player was not considered.
Hart, who endured a difficult Euro 2016, was permitted to leave the England camp briefly to complete the formalities of his move to Torino. He will earn his 64th cap against Slovakia and will hope that, by the time the national side reconvene for the qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia next month, he has benefited from more game time at his the Serie A club.
