Green recalled for England after Stockdale drops out

Green made himself available once more (GETTY IMAGES)

England coach Fabio Capello was able to breathe a sigh of relief last night when Robert Green returned to the international fold.

Following Ben Foster's decision to stand down from England duty indefinitely, there had also been a question mark about Green's commitment to the Three Lions cause.

Having excused himself from next month's Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland partly due to the impending birth of his first child but also because of the stresses of West Ham's battle to avoid the drop, Capello had opted not to push Green before naming his squad on Monday afternoon.

However, the Italian had named his squad without knowing Fulham's David Stockdale was due to get married 24 hours before the Swiss encounter on June 4.

Although Stockdale had assured Capello he would report for duty, the position was nowhere near ideal, so the England coach approached Green, whose wife has given birth and West Ham's fate is now sealed.

Had the stopper, who has not played for his country since making that abysmal error against the United States in last summer's World Cup, said no, Capello would have been in trouble.

As it was, Green agreed and will report for duty with the remainder of his team-mates next Monday.

It does smack of a lack of communication surrounding Capello, who will be meeting Rio Ferdinand for the first time since handing the captaincy back to John Terry.

However, the final outcome has at least been favourable, with Green providing competition for Joe Hart and Scott Carson, ahead of a game England need to win to retain control over their own destiny in what seems to be a straight qualification fight with Montenegro.