England's players lack of match sharpness is a worry for Roy Hodgson as Moldova and Ukraine games loom

Ashley Young has been omitted from the England squad to face Moldova and Ukraine because of a sore knee but what will worry Roy Hodgson more is the number of players in his outfield 21 not starting for their clubs.

Hodgson’s concerns merely echo sentiments often expressed by Fabio Capello about the number of players in the Premier League eligible for England selection, a figure usually deemed around 40 per cent.

Barring the surprise news of Young’s injury, apparently sustained against Fulham on Saturday, the major talking point of Thursday’s squad was the question marks over players’ match sharpness.

A third of England’s outfield 21 started last weekend’s game on the bench. At least Hodgson’s defence is well stocked with regular starters.

Leighton Baines, Ryan Bertrand (although used in midfield), Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker began for their teams while Joleon Lescott was on the bench for Manchester City.

John Terry, as expected, is included in Hodgson’s squad, although his recovery from a neck injury will be assessed by England’s medical staff on Monday. If Cole remains England’s first-choice left back, there is a straight fight between Walker and Johnson for the right back role. Hodgson was disappointed that Walker suffered an injured toe on the eve of Euro 2012, so ruling him out.

Johnson started in Poland and Ukraine, although the Liverpool player was rested for the friendly win over Italy in Berne when Walker reconfirmed his talent.

Hodgson’s concerns over his players’ match sharpness increases in midfield. Of the eight listed in his “midfielders” section, only Michael Carrick and Steven Gerrard are guaranteed starters for their clubs.

Two more of Hodgson’s midfielders, James Milner and Tom Cleverley, did start last weekend but are not certain of their starting places.

Frank Lampard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott all started on the bench while Adam Johnson, having failed to force his way into the first team consistently at Manchester City, made his Sunderland debut in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

For all the concerns about game time, there is a good blend of youth and experience in the midfield. Cleverley and Oxlade-Chamberlain offer a glimpse of the future while Carrick and Gerrard provide the 30-something nous. Young’s injury is ill timed; he performed well in the warm-up to the Euros.

The situation is even more problematic for Hodgson in attack. Of his four strikers, only Jermain Defoe started at the weekend.

Defoe on Thursday signed a new three-year deal at Spurs but knows he has Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of him in the pecking order. Andy Carroll is surplus to requirements at Liverpool where Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini are preferred.

Daniel Sturridge’s future at Chelsea remains clouded with Fernando Torres the leading light. Danny Welbeck started for England at the Euros but his chances of regular football this season have been complicated with the arrival of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa.

The one striker who is guaranteed to be starting regularly is Darren Bent, the Aston Villa forward who was overlooked by Hodgson on Thursday despite regaining the fitness that precluded his involvement at Euro 2012.

England’s players report for training at London Colney on Monday before flying out to Chisinau next Thursday for the game with Moldova the following night. Four days later England host Ukraine at Wembley.

There is sufficient ability in the squad to ensure that England get a strong start to their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign but the number of internationals on club bench remains an issue.