September 15 2002

Wayne Routledge

Trevor Francis wants to withdraw starlet Wayne Routledge from the England under-19s match against Hungary this week, so he can play against Derby.

He was due to meet up with the squad at the weekend but Francis needed him to play gainst Wolves due to the huge amount of injuries at Selhurst Park.

Francis said: "He was due to meet up with the England Under-19 squad but we asked if he could stay.

"He's due to play against Hungary in a friendly but we’re hoping to have him here on Tuesday instead because we are severely depleted.

"We feel he has great potential. I introduced him as a substitute against Preston last season and he did a full pre-season with the first team, which really benefited him.

"He's strong, clever, very good in possession and has terrific pace. It was a very good performance and he scored a wonder goal."