Hodgson dodges row with Reds

London - Roy Hodgson avoided another potential confrontation with Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers when he omitted Daniel Sturridge from the squad for England's upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers on Thursday.

Read: FA score Welbeck own goal! 

Sturridge has been sidelined since injuring his thigh on England duty at the start of September -- leading to public complaints from Rodgers about his care when with the national team - and was left out of the 21-man squad Hodgson named for the two games on Thursday.

Although he is nearing fitness and could feature for Liverpool in Saturday's Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion, Rodgers did not want his striker taking part in the Group E games against San Marino at Wembley on Oct 9 and Estonia in Tallinn three days later and the England coach has heeded that request.

Hodgson called up right-back Nathaniel Clyne of Southampton and there is a recall for midfielder Jonjo Shelvey of Swansea City.

England began their qualifying campaign for the finals in France with a 2-0 win over Switzerland in Basel last month when Danny Welbeck scored both goals and the 23-year-old is again expected to lead the line after scoring his first professional hat-trick in Arsenal's 4-1 Champions League victory over Galatasaray on Wednesday.

Sturridge, who scored 24 goals in all competitions for Liverpool last season, but has been restricted to three Premier League outings this campaign, scoring once.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), John Stones (Everton), Leighton Baines (Everton), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal), Rickie Lambert (Liverpool)