England have confirmed their final 23-man squad for Euro 2016.
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Question marks have been raised over Sturridge’s place after sustaining a calf strain during Liverpool’s Europa League final loss to Sevilla, ruling him out of Friday’s 2-1 friendly win against Australia in Sunderland.
Roy Hodgson has been warned he is taking a major gamble on England’s Euro 2016 hopes.
Hodgson’s side begin their Group B campaign in France against Russian Federation on 11 June, before meeting Wales on 16 June and Slovakia on 20 June.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is also named, despite missing both of England’s warm-up games.
Midfielders: Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, James Milner, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere.
Drinkwater and Townsend said goodbye to everyone involved before leaving the England camp and will not be on standby for the tournament.
Hodgson has opted to leave out Leicester City midfielder Drinkwater, who won his third cap against Australia, and Newcastle winger Townsend, who had fallen out of favour earlier in the season after being frozen out during his final months at Tottenham.
“The seasons been a huge positive for me”.
“I didn’t want to sacrifice them to shore up with players who maybe might in some ways cover positions slightly better but maybe don’t have the qualities of the players I’d be leaving out”, he added.
But Southampton left back Bertrand, who has suffered from a persistent knee problem, has missed the last two sessions and must remain a concern. “While he was at Tottenham he wasn’t even getting the opportunity because he wasn’t playing”.
This form persuaded Hodgson to include him in the squad despite the fact that Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy start firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.
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Drinkwater, a Premier League title-winner last season with the Foxes, was quick to offer his support to the rest of the Three Lions squad after being told by Hodgson that his services would not be required in France.
