Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross and Everton left-back Leighton Baines are both in the England squad for this week's friendly against Egypt.
In a squad to face Egypt at Wembley on Wednesday notable for the inclusions of Theo Walcott and Stewart Downing, and the exclusion of Joe Cole, Shawcross' name stands out.
That Fabio Capello made reference on Friday of his intention to select a rookie central defender to tackle the African Nations Cup winners only made the timing of Shawcross' horror lunge at Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey as awful as the challenge itself.
Capello and trusted assistant Franco Baldini even delayed the announcement of their squad by 40 minutes to have one last discussion about Shawcross' presence given the severity of the injury Ramsey is thought to have suffered during Arsenal's win at Stoke.
But Shawcross' obvious remorse over the incident, for which he was justifiably sent off, weighed heavily in the 22-year-old's favour and Capello opted to stick with his original intention to pick the Chester-born youngster.
England Squad:
James (Portsmouth), Green (West Ham), Hart (Birmingham), Brown (Man Utd), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham), Lescott (Man City), Shawcross (Stoke), Baines (Everton), Warnock (Aston Villa), Milner (Aston Villa), Beckham, Walcott (Arsenal), Lampard (Chelsea), Barry (Man City), Gerrard (Liverpool), Carrick (Man Utd), Wright-Phillips (Man City), Downing (Aston Villa), Heskey (Aston Villa), Defoe (Tottenham), Rooney (Man Utd), Crouch (Tottenham), C Cole (West Ham).