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England fully fit for Montenegro clash as Hodgson lauds defence

England manager Roy Hodgson insists he has no injury concerns ahead of Tuesday night's clash with Montenegro in Podgorica.

The Three Lions are looking for a win against the World Cup qualifying Group H leaders so they can leapfrog them into pole position with Hodgson saying he has a clean bill of health to produce such a required result.

Liverpool's Glen Johnson has recovered from a toe injury and will operate at right-back alongside central defenders Joleon Lescott and Chris Smalling but that does not dampen Hodgson's spirits as he feels he has enough depth to cover the absence of Gary Cahill, Rio Ferdinand and Phil Jagielka.

"I just remind people that Joleon Lescott helped Manchester City to their first title in 40-odd years, and in Chris Smalling we have someone who's playing regularly for the champions-elect," he said.

"It's not as if we've been forced to pick people who don't play at the highest level and I personally trust the pair of them.

"I personally trust the pair of them. I think they're going to do very well tomorrow night, so I don't have any concerns.

"There'll be no sleep lost for me in that position because I think we have two very good players in that position and furthermore, I also think [Steven] Taylor and [Steven] Caulker could quite happily come in and do the job as well."

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Andrew Slevison
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