VIDEO: Henderson itching to get involved
By Nicholas Veevers
Monday, 15 November, 2010
Midfielder hopeful on involvement on Wednesday night.
Click here to watch the video of the Jordan Henderson press conference.
England hopeful Jordan Henderson admits it has been a good week in his life after receiving his first call-up to Fabio Capello’s squad before helping club side Sunderland to a stunning victory over Premier League champions Chelsea.
Immediately after that game, he reported to the team base in Hertfordshire ahead of Wednesday’s clash with France at Wembley and Monday morning saw him experience training, or match recovery for him, for the first time.
It has been a rapid rise for the 20-year-old, who only made his England debut for the U19s in March 2009 and has since gone on to feature for the U20s and Under-21s.
Coupled with his excellent form for Stuart Pearce’s Young Lions side and for Sunderland this season, he was soon on Capello’s radar.
“I was over the moon to be honest,” he admitted. “There was a lot of speculation that I was going to be in the squad, but in my mind, I was just concentrating on the Chelsea game and when I got the text through on the night, I was over the moon.
“It gave me a little bit more confidence (for Sunday’s game), but I had to just concentrate on the Chelsea game and making sure we worked hard and pushed forward and I think we did that.
“It’s been a really good week for me with the call-up and then the result yesterday, but I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground and doing what I’ve been doing.”
Henderson didn’t get chance to partake in the full training session at London Colney on Monday morning and underwent a recovery session after his exertions at Stamford Bridge the previous afternoon.
But he did manage to sneak a glimpse of the rest of the squad in training and he’s now just itching to get involved.
“I only did a recovery because of the game yesterday, but I managed to watch a bit of it and it looked very good,” he added.
“I won’t be intimidated by it. I’ll give respect to the players for what they’ve done in the game, but I’ll just go out and do what I can do.
“I spoke to Benty (Darren Bent) about it and he told me what to expect, so I’ve been looking forward to it and hopefully, I’ll get a chance to play.
“It’s a great opportunity for me, and a few of the younger lads to show what we can do and I’ll do everything in my power to keep that going.
“You always want to come and play for your country, I’ve just been enjoying my football this season and loving every minute of it and I want to do the same here.”