Stewart Downing, (born July 22, 1984), is an English football
player, whose performances at the start of the 2004-05 season
for Middlesbrough, had seen calls in the British media for him
to be called up to the England squad, primarily as a solution
for the team's problems on the left side of midfield.
He made his England debut on the February 9, 2005 in a home
friendly, played at Villa Park against the Netherlands,
replacing Shaun Wright-Phillips in the second half.
Earlier on in his career, he was sent out on loan to Sunderland
in 2003, as at the time his first-team chances were limited due
to the form on the left of Boro's midfield of Bolo Zenden. After
his recall due to injuries at Middlesbrough, he found his
chances for first-team appearances had increased, and his career
started to take off.
As the 2005-06 season started Downing found himself ignored by
the England (senior team) management and his career took a
further setback in September 2005 when he was injured training
with England on their USA tour. He returned to full fitness in
January 2006. |
