Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling has been called up to the senior England squad for the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

Roy Hodgson’s men suffered a set-back when Daniel Sturridge (stomach cramps) and Theo Walcott (illness) both missed training on Monday.

The Arsenal man has returned to the north London club having been ruled out of Tuesday’s clash with Oleg Blokhin’s side, however the Three Lions’ medical team are hopeful that the Chelsea forward will recover in time.

With Andy Carroll also having missed the 5-0 win over Moldova, and Wayne Rooney currently sidelined too, the England boss has decided to bolster his attacking options with the Reds’ youngster.Sterling has only recently broken into the Merseyside outfit’s first-team, after impressing in last year’s NextGen tournament and pre-season this term, but has already shown glimpses of quality in the Premier League.

The news comes just after the Jamaica national team coach, Theodore Whitmore, expressed interest in tempting the teenager, who was born in Kingston, into representing his country-of-birth.

The former West Brom manager has also handed call-ups to newly-promoted Southampton’s winger Adam Lallana and Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore as extra cover after losing five players from his original squad.