Blackburn midfielder replaces the injured Trevor Sinclair

Blackburn midfielder replaces the injured Trevor Sinclair, as Sven gives him his first ever call-up.

David Thompson has been called up to join the England squad by Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The news comes after Trevor Sinclair was forced to pull out. The West Ham man who was such a success during the World Cup picked up an injury in Saturday's match against Birmingham.

Explaining his decision, Sven told us this afternoon: "David has been impressive over the last few weeks and I have seen him play on a couple of occasions. I am now looking forward to working with him for these two important games."

Roy Evans, the ex-Liverpool manager who handed Thompson his break in the top flight, told Sky Sports News: ``I'm delighted. He has got great ability, he is an exciting player, he is tenacious and most of all he scores goals.

``He's nice to watch, he loves the game and he'll do a good job if he gets the chance.

``I'd like to see Sven give someone like Thompson the chance and hopefully he gets to play a part in the game.''

``I saw him playing in central midfield against Manchester City,'' said England coach Tord Grip.

``He played really well and scored a marvellous goal from 25 yards. I asked someone `Who is that?'.

``Then I remembered Roland Nilsson used to say Coventry usually played well when Thompson was in the team. ``Sven has seen him play on the right and left and that is very useful for us.

``He can be aggressive and maybe he has to control that a little but he deserves his place in the squad.''

Thompson was informed of his call-up by Rovers boss Graeme Souness this morning and expressed his joy at the news.

``It's the best feeling ever,'' he said.

``Coming to Blackburn is turning out to be a dream move.

``I feel I've been playing well and my name's been banded about a bit.

``But you can't afford to think about it too long though in case it affects your performance.

``It's fantastic news and, while I was playing just as well for Coventry, this certainly wouldn't have happened as the Premiership's the place to be.''

David Thompson Factfile

1977: Born on September 12 in Birkenhead.

1996: Turned professional with Liverpool after progressing through the Reds' youth system. August 19 - Made his Premiership debut as an 87th-minute substitute in Liverpool's 2-0 Anfield win over Arsenal.

1997: Spent three months on loan at Swindon in a bid to gain valuable first-team experience, playing in 10 First Division games.

1998: April 13 - Scores his first Premiership goal, snatching an 85th-minute winner as Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Anfield.

1999: September 18 - Sent off in Liverpool's 2-2 Filbert Street draw with Leicester.

2000: Makes £3million pre-season switch to Coventry after starting just 24 top-flight starts for Liverpool.

2002: August 29 - Signs for Blackburn for £1.5million having scored 15 goals in 66 games for City. October 7: Called up to England squad to face Slovakia and Macedonia after Trevor Sinclair's withdrawal through injury.

We'll continue to bring you the news as soon as it happens throughout the week.