Burnley Midfielder Jack Cork Receives First Call-Up to England National Team

Burnley midfielder Jack Cork has received his first ever call-up to the England national squad following the withdrawal from previously chosen midfielders in Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Jordan Henderson and Fabian Delph.

Those four, along with Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and Tottenham striker Harry Kane have all been forced to drop out of the November international friendlies against Brazil and Germany due to injury - paving the way for Cork to receive his first ever call-up for his country.

The former Southampton and Swansea holding midfielder made the switch to Turf Moor over the summer for a reported £10m from South Wales; and has enjoyed a sparkling return to Lancashire - having spent the second half of the 2009/10 season there on loan from Chelsea.

His new club are raising many eyebrows across England for their inspired performances under Sean Dyche this season. The Clarets currently sit seventh in the table, and have picked up 19 points from only 11 matches; including draws against Liverpool and Spurs as well as a massive 3-2 win over Chelsea.

So far, Jake Livermore and Michael Keane have also been handed late call-ups by Gareth Southgate, while Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all looking to make their full England debuts after being named on the 22-man squad list.

England begin their preparations for the Russian World Cup with a home game against Germany on Friday (November 10) before hosting Brazil on the Tuesday of the following week (November 14).

With a few new faces in the Three Lions' den, Southgate will have a lot of competition for places to select from, and players will be eager to prove themselves ahead of the summer.