Andros Townsend: England winger has a point to prove

The 22-year-old looked a banker for a place in the 23-man party for Brazil when he burst onto the international scene with two dynamic performances for England in the World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland in October.

However, Townsend then suffered a hamstring injury in December which kept him out for two months and he has had little game time since returning to action.

Hodgson, who has plenty of options on the flanks, has kept faith with Townsend, though, and has included him in the squad to face Denmark at Wembley next week.

Townsend is quoted in several newspapers as saying: "Every single English winger seems to be playing well at the moment. You've got Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Johnson.

"I've been out injured watching the Premier League and seeing everyone doing well.

"That just gives me an extra incentive to come back and to play even better than I was before. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season now and getting back to where I was before I was injured.

"It's great that the manager has shown the confidence to include me in the squad, considering I haven't played much football lately.

"I was in the form of my life so to get injured was disappointing, but that's part and parcel of the game.

"I've just got to come back stronger. I am almost back to full fitness now so hopefully I can push on and get some more games and start flying again.

"I wasn't scoring that many goals or getting that many assists, there are still improvements to be made."