Sylvan Ebanks-Blake gets all-clear for England

Oct 7 2008

SYLVAN Ebanks-Blake will join up with the England Under-21 squad this week after shrugging off a knee injury which kept him out of Wolves’ visit to Swansea last Saturday.

Ebanks-Blake will be involved as Stuart Pearce’s squad prepares to face Wales in a two-leg Euro-qualifer at Ninian Park, Cardiff, on Friday then at Villa Park next Tuesday.

And Wolves are hopeful the striker’s recovery is part of a three-pronged return to action for their attacking forces when Coventry City visit Molineux a week on Saturday.

Chris Iwelumo will be back after suspension, barring an injury collected on international duty for Scotland next weekend, while Michael Kightly’s hamstring strain continues to ease.

With those three players back in harness, the Wolves team would look a very different proposition to the depleted unit which manager Mick McCarthy was forced to send out at Swansea.

McCarthy had to give 20-year-old George Friend, who was playing League Two football with Exeter only six weeks ago, a debut way ahead of schedule while Sunderland loan recruit Carlos Edwards, short of match fitness, was also pitched in prematurely for his Wolves bow.

“It was difficult for the debutants coming in,” McCarthy said.

“Carlos is an experienced player but hasn’t had all that much football this season.

“I was pleased with some of the football he produced but he came in to a much-changed team which made it a bit more difficult. George had a difficult start but did some good stuff going forward.”

‘‘Again it would have been lovely for him to come in when we’ve got the likes of Jarvis, Kightly, Iwelumo and Ebanks-Blake and we are flying. It’s always a lot easier to come into an established side.”

McCarthy was today checking out the form of his fringe players in a lunchtime, behind-closed-doors friendly at Blackburn.