At 18 years and 208 days, Rashford became the youngest player to score in his debut for England when he volleyed in the opener in a 2-1 win over Australia in a friendly.
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There had been speculation that Liverpool forward Sturridge, who has been hampered by injury problems this season and missed the last two friendlies with a calf problem, could be left out as a result, but Leicester midfielder Drinkwater and Newcastle winger Townsend have been omitted instead.
England’s tournament-bound players will train as a group for the first time at Watford’s base on Wednesday, in preparation for their final warm-up match against Portugal at Wembley.
“We should learn our lessons from previous tournaments and not gamble with players’ fitness”.
Tottenham pair Kyle Walker and Danny Rose have been given the number two and three shirts ahead of full-back rivals Nathaniel Clyne and Bertrand.
“Suddenly we do have a lot of players to pick from and it was a tough decision”.
The England manager insists Rashford’s goalscoring debut display was not the deciding factor in him making the squad, saying it came as a result of his impressive overall emergence.
The duo were told they had not made the cut in private meetings in Hodgson’s room, with both said to have been very respectful and mature in the manner they took the news.
The 26-year-old striker, who is part of the Italy Euro 2016 squad, is reported to be the subject of an 11million euros offer, according to sources in Italy.
“I believe that if they perform anything like to the level they are capable of performing, we are going to be a hard team to beat”, he said. “It’s a young squad but it’s good because we’re all good friends and I think that makes it easy for us to gel”.
Despite his status as England’s record goalscorer, his tournament record is modest, notably battling injury at the 2006 World Cup and suspension at the beginning of the last European Championship.
With Rashford due to provide an option from the bench, tomorrow’s game may reveal how Hodgson intends to fit captain Wayne Rooney and in-form strikers Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy into his starting XI.
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Pele admits there are more pressures in the modern game than when he was a player – he won three World Cups between 1958 and 1970 – but has backed Rashford to deal with it.
