David Beckham was left out of new England coach Steve McClaren's first England squad today, raising speculation that his international career could be over.
Beckham, who quit as captain after England's quarter-final exit from the World Cup in July, did not feature in McClaren's list of 25 for next Wednesday's home friendly against Greece.
Former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell and goalkeeper David James were also omitted while McClaren announced that former England coach Terry Venables would be his assistant.
West Ham United striker Dean Ashton was selected for the first time, while there were recalls for strikers Jermain Defoe and Marcus Bent, both surprisingly left out of the World Cup squad by former coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Beckham limped off with an Achilles tendon injury during England's defeat by Portugal on July 1st and announced that he was standing down as captain after six years the following day.
He has since returned to action for his club Real Madrid, playing 45 minutes of their pre-season match against D.C. United in Washington on Wednesday.
The former Manchester United midfielder, who made his England debut in 1996 and has won 94 caps, 59 of them as captain, became the first England player to score in three World Cups when he netted the winner against Ecuador in June.
Tottenham Hotspur's Aaron Lennon, who is in the squad, is widely tipped to replace Beckham on the right side of midfield as is Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips, back in favour after not being picked for the World Cup by Eriksson.
The leader of England's so-called golden generation, Beckham's hopes of emulating the late Bobby Moore by captaining his country to a first major trophy since 1966 have always ended in frustration and despair.
Beckham's highlights in an England shirt include his fantastic last-minute free kick against Greece in 2001 which rescued a 2-2 draw and a place in the 2002 World Cup finals and his penalty winner against Argentina in Japan.
There have been some lows, however, most notably his red card against Argentina at France 98 for a kick at Diego Simeone -- an act that led to vilification at home.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Kirkland (Liverpool), Ben Foster (Manchester United)
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Gary Neville (Manchester United), Phil Neville (Everton), John Terry (Chelsea), Luke Young (Charlton
Athletic)
Midfielders: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
Forwards: Dean Ashton (West Ham United), Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur).
