Hodgson makes Villa hitman claim

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has not been 'dismissed' from his plans with England.

The Three Lions coach has spoken out after ignoring the hitman when selecting his squad for the two World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine over the past five days despite being without the likes of Wayne Rooney because of a leg injury. Liverpool teenager Raheem Sterling and Southampton's Adam Lallana were then drafted in ahead of Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Ukraine at Wembley when Theo Walcott pulled out because of a sickness bug. However, Hodgson insisted Bent, who was unavailable for his squad at Euro 2012 because of an ankle injury and is still getting back his match sharpness, remains a part of his plans. He said: "Darren was injured for the best part of last season and the new one is only two or three games old. "He's a player we'll be following. I've not dismissed anybody."