Heskey is back in England squad

Birmingham City striker Emile Heskey has been recalled to the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has decided to bring him back after dropping Manchester United's Alan Smith.

Darius Vassell has also missed out, but Andy Johnson has kept his place.

Nicky Butt is also out of the squad as he needs more time to recover from an injury. England play Northern Ireland on 26 March and Azerbaijan on 30 March.

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Heskey has not been included in the England squad line-up since he pulled out of the friendly against Ukraine in August 2004 because he was injured.

Since then he's worked hard to regain his fitness, and has recently been on form, scoring six goals in his last 10 Premiership matches.