McManaman out of England squad

Steve McManaman has pulled out of the England squad for the friendly against Spain after suffering a hamstring injury.  

McManaman joins Kieron Dyer on the sidelines as Sven-Goran Eriksson's 31-man squad has already been reduced to 29 players.

And there could be further withdrawals, with Michael Carrick doubtful.

The West Ham midfielder also suffered a hamstring injury but will report for duty with the rest of the squad on Monday, when any other injury problems will be assessed.

McManaman, meanwhile, was personally consulted about his fitness by Eriksson last week on the phone and told the new England coach that he should be able to report for international duty.

Indeed, the midfielder was positively relishing the possibility of taking on some of his Real Madrid team-mates in the friendly against Spain at Villa Park on Wednesday night.

However, he felt a hamstring problem during training last Friday and although he did manage to appear for 30 minutes as a substitute for Real Madrid against Deportivo la Coruna on Saturday, he has still had to pull out.

McManaman, whose Real side drew 2-2 against Deportivo and face Barcelona in another crucial game next weekend, had a good chance of making the England starting line-up for Eriksson's first game in charge.

The Swede travelled out to see him in action recently during Real's Champions League clash against Lazio and is understood to have been impressed by McManaman's display.

An FA spokesman said: "Steve McManaman has had to pull out of the England squad. Sven has been told of the news and is naturally disappointed."

McManaman last appeared in an England starting line-up for the opening game at the Euro 2000 finals against Romania but he has been a substitute on two occasions - against France and Finland - since then.