Former Blues striker Johnson has returned to his club Crystal Palace having pulled out of Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad with an ankle injury and the England coach has said that he does not intend to call up a replacement for Johnson. "He is playing very well at the moment," Eriksson said of the Blues striker. "He is good in the air which can be useful against Northern Ireland. So after seeing him and talking to the scouts I decided to take him back."
That decision adds weight to the chances of Heskey representing his country for the first time this season in the World Cup qualifying games against Northern Ireland at Old Trafford on Saturday and/or Azerbaijan at Newcastle four days later.
"When he is in the fighting spirit he is always a very useful player - he is stronger than all the others.
Heskey sat-out England's first training session on Tuesday as Eriksson rested all players in the squad that had played on Sunday.