Charlton boss Alan Pardew claims Darren Bent 'won't be right' for England duty.
Charlton boss Alan Pardew claims Darren Bent 'won't be right' for England duty so David Nugent could be on the verge of a call-up to the full squad.
Pardew admitted he took a gamble on Bent's knee injury for Sunday's vital Premiership clash against Newcastle and the manager was forced to withdraw the player seven minutes from the end of the team's 2-0 win.
Bent will report to Steve McClaren's squad this week for a medical assessment but Pardew believes it unlikely that the player will be asked to stay on for the Euro 2008 qualifying double-header against Israel and Andorra.
Bent's omission could mean England Under-21 international Nugent being promoted to the seniors, with the Preston striker having been placed on standby by McClaren.
"With hindsight, maybe I made a mistake picking both Darren and Marcus Bent for the game," said Pardew.
"They have both been in the treatment room all week and looked a bit ring-rusty. I made the call for Darren on Saturday but he's not right, not 100 per cent.
"And I think the England duty won't be right for him and I don't think it will be right for Steve because the games England face are absolutely massive.
"But I will send him [to the England camp] to be assessed and leave it up to Darren and Steve but I think, in all honesty, he is not going to play.
"There is pain in a medial ligament and when that ligament is not as taut as it should be you feel it all the time you are running, jogging, twisting and turning."
Meanwhile, another England international in action at The Valley was also forced off before time, but Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder does not expect an ankle injury to prevent Kieron Dyer featuring for his country.
"It will take a couple of days for the swelling to go down but he will be okay," said Roeder.
