Aaron Cresswell and Jordon Pickford receive England call-up after duo pull out

Aaron Cresswell has received his first-ever England call-up after impressing with West Ham United in recent seasons. Jordan Pickford has also been called up after Danny Drinkwater and Fraser Forster pulled out due to lack of fitness.

"West Ham United left-back Aaron Cresswell has been called up by England for the first time. The 26-year-old joins Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in being drafted in by Gareth Southgate after Fraser Forster and Danny Drinkwater withdrew from the squad through injury," a statement on the Football Association's (FA) official site read.

The Hammers defender is not a direct replacement for either of the players that withdrew indicating that he might have been called up owing to fitness concerns over Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose, who has been struggling with injury issues in recent weeks. The Three Lions take on Scotland in a World Cup qualifying clash on Saturday (12 November) and Spain in a friendly four days later.

Similarly, Pickford, who was in line to play with the England U21 side during the international break, was called up to provide back-up to Joe Hart and Tom Heaton, who are ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment. The duo are unlikely to be handed game time unless players in their position pull out ahead of the game.

Gareth Southgate will hope that there are no more withdrawals from his squad ahead of their crunch clash against neighbours and rivals Scotland. According to the Guardian, Theo Walcott could be another absentee as he awaits news of the birth of his second child, and will be allowed to leave the squad to be with his family.

The England manager, meanwhile, has admitted that he is delighted to have Harry Kane back in the squad for the clash against Gordon Strachan's team. The Tottenham striker made his return from a seven-week layoff with an ankle injury in the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday (6 November) and has joined the Three Lions squad despite lacking full match fitness.

"Harry is a proven goalscorer at every level. He's a player I've worked with before, with the Under-21s, so I know his character," Southgate told the FA's official site.

"It's obviously early stages of coming back from quite a long injury but we saw today the desire that he has and the knack of being in the right place at the right time — not only the goal he scored, but a couple of other chances. It's good to have him back in with the squad," he added.