Osman called up and Wilshere returns to the England fold


Everton midfielder Leon Osman has been called up into the England squad for an international friendly against Sweden on 14 November.
The 31-year-old has made a strong start to the Premier League season with the Merseysiders and is the surprise inclusion, with many notable absentees from Roy Hodgson's squad.
The other main news is the return to the squad for creative Arsenal youngster Jack Wilshere.
Wilshere returns 
Wilshere who was sent off last weekend at Manchester United, has only just returned to the starting 11 at the Emirates after various injuries kept him out of the game for over a year.
The 20-year-old (pictured) will be looking to cement his place in the squad, especially with the likes of Frank Lampard and James Milner missing out.
Lampard and Milner are both carrying injuries, as are Arsenal pair Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs and Manchester City's Joleon Lescott.
It means these five will be rested by the manager to enable recovery at their clubs.
Jermain Defoe, Andy Carroll, Michael Carrick and Adam Johnson miss out too.
Johnson and Carroll have paid the price for some iffy club form in recent weeks but Defoe's exclusion is a surprise to many, considering he is Tottenham's main striker at the moment.
Gerrard set to become a centurion  
Liverpool captain and Three Lions skipper Steven Gerrard is in line to make his 100th international appearance in Stockholm.
If he does, he will become only the sixth England player after Peter Shilton, David Beckham, Bobby Moore, Billy Wright and Sir Bobby Charlton to have won a century of international caps.
Gerrard will be joined by Liverpool youngsters Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey.
17-year-old Sterling was called up as emergency cover for the World Cup qualifier with Ukraine, while Shelvey made his full international debut off the bench in the 5-0 rout of San Marino in October.
Ryan Shawcross keeps his place in the squad and is joined by Steven Caulker from Tottenham Hotspur. As expected, there is no place for Rio Ferdinand or Ashley Cole who has a niggling hamstring injury.
The squad will meet up on Sunday night and are likely to train in Manchester before travelling to Scandinavia for the final assignment of 2012 for the national team.

FULL ENGLAND SQUAD FOR INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY WITH SWEDEN

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City), Fraser Forster (Celtic).
Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Leighton Baines (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Steven Caulker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea).
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Leon Osman (Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool).
Attackers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea).
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

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