Danny Welbeck out of England game v Italy, Ryan Bertrand called up

Danny Welbeck was on target on Friday but will miss Tuesday's match in Italy

England manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck is out of the squad to play Italy on Tuesday due to a knee injury.

Raheem Sterling, Leighton Baines and James Milner had already been ruled out of the Turin friendly and Welbeck will also be absent, having picked up a knock during Friday night's 4-0 defeat of Lithuania in their European Qualifier at Wembley.

It had always been the plan for Baines to return to Everton, the left-back having suffered knee problems this season, and Southampton defender Ryan Bertrand has been drafted into the squad, as cover for Arsenal man Kieran Gibbs.

But Hodgson will have just 17 outfield players to choose from in total against the Italians because Welbeck, Sterling and Milner will not be travelling.

Liverpool forward Sterling is carrying a toe injury and Manchester City midfielder Milner did not play against Lithuania due to a knee problem.

The England boss said on Saturday: "We knew we were going to be losing Raheem Sterling, who had an injection last night on an on-going injury. Hopefully, that will help him as we go forward.

"We have a problem with James Milner who had to leave, we decided to let Leighton Baines go home and, of course, we lost Danny Welbeck, who unfortunately picked up a slight knee injury

"So those four players won’t be with us going forward, but it means a chance for the other guys in the squad to show what they can do.

"We are going to bring Ryan Bertrand in because, with Leighton Baines gone, we are now left with only one recognised left-back, which is Kieran Gibbs, and we wanted two recognised left backs for both games."

Welbeck scored England’s second of the night on Friday, via a big deflection, but picked up an injury after the break and was substituted with 13 minutes remaining.

The 24-year-old Arsenal forward has been in fine form for England this season and has already bagged six goals in the qualifying campaign, helping Hodgson's men to secure wins in all five of their matches so far.

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