Jones named in England Under-21 squad
Manchester United defender Phil Jones has been included in England's Under-21 squad to face Sweden next week.
Jones - a member of Roy Hodgson's Euro 2012 squad - has worked his way back into the United first-team squad after missing a large chunk of the season with a combination of knee and back problems.
The 20-year-old, who has five full international caps, will now get the chance to show he is ready to make the step up to senior level again when he plays for Stuart Pearce's side against Sweden in Tuesday's under-21 friendly at Walsall.
Pearce has also handed a first call-up to 17-year-old left-back Luke Shaw, who has impressed for Southampton in recent weeks.
New Manchester United signing Wilfried Zaha, who earned his first senior cap against Sweden in November, is also named in Pearce's squad along with Liverpool quartet Andre Wisdom, Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey and Jack Robinson.
With places up for grabs for this summer's Under-21 European Championship in Israel, and the senior team's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, Pearce has challenged his young charges to impress him over the coming week.
"For a number of the young players lucky enough to experience the finals in June it will prove to be an invaluable time in Israel, and perhaps a springboard to Roy's side, with Brazil 2014 on the horizon," said Pearce, whose side beat Northern Ireland in their last match in November.
"It has been nearly three months since we were last together as a squad, so we are looking forward to meeting up again at St George's Park to spend time working on our preparations for what will be an important year.
"We've always said that reaching major finals at youth level is vital in a player's development so they can learn about what they might expect, should they progress to the senior team and find themselves at a World Cup or European Championship."