Bould's England recall

Steve Bould, the Arsenal centre-back, was yesterday recalled to the England squad in place of the injured Newcastle defender Steve Howey for next week's friendly in Norway. Terry Venables, the England coach, was left with only Tony Adams and Gary Pallister as centre-backs after Howey's withdrawal. Neil Ruddock, the first-choice replacement, was found to have personal problems.

Southampton's Matt Le Tissier may also get a recall in place of Paul Gascoigne, who has a thigh strain. Venables said: "We will have a roll call when everybody meets up. I've always said that the door is never shut for Le Tissier. There is still time for him. I've seen every game he's played this season, but he just happens not to be in the starting group at the moment."

As there is no weekend Premiership programme because of internationals, Eric Cantona is set to continue his comeback in Manchester United's reserves tomorrow against Leeds reserves.

However, Cantona learned yesterday that he has been left out of France's squad for next week's European Championship qualifier in Romania. Aime Jacquet, the France coach, has called up David Ginola, even though the Newcastle forward is doubtful with a thigh injury.

Members of the Northern Ireland squad for their European Championship qualifier in Liechtenstein will not be allowed to play for their clubs this weekend. With key strikers Iain Dowie and Keith Gillespie suspended, Bryan Hamilton is unwilling to risk any more injuries in the build-up to Wednesday's match, following yesterday's withdrawal of the Queen's Park Rangers centre-back, Alan McDonald, with a foot injury.

Several clubs have criticised the decision and Mick Gooding, joint-manager of Reading with Jimmy Quinn, one of the players affected, said: "Jimmy has always been very loyal to Northern Ireland and we think they've been a bit unfair to us."

Paul McStay could be out of Scotland's trip to Sweden next week with an ankle injury. The Celtic skipper missed his club's midweek match and faces a fitness test before tomorrow's game.

Glenn Helder, the Arsenal winger, has been recalled by the Netherlands for their qualifier in Malta, but his Highbury team-mate, Dennis Bergkamp, is missing with a slight ankle injury.

Coca-Cola Cup draw, Sporting Digest, page 31