England to assess striker options against Norway

VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) — With Wayne Rooney suspended for England's first two games at the European Championship, new manager Roy Hodgson will use Saturday's friendly in Norway to assess his options up front and see who is best placed to temporarily replace the Manchester United star.

Danny Welbeck, Andy Carroll and Jermain Defoe are the other strikers available to Hodgson for Euro 2012 and it looks to be a straight fight between the first two regarding who will fill in for Rooney for England's opening games against France and Sweden.

However, with Welbeck still nursing an ankle injury and unlikely to be risked in Oslo this weekend, Hodgson is set to turn to the powerful Carroll - Liverpool's 35-million pound (then $56 million) signing who appears to have finally found his best form.

Carroll forced his way into Hodgson's thinking after a strong end to otherwise miserable season at Anfield and given the problems afflicting Rooney and Welbeck, his timing couldn't be better.

"He's had such a good finish to the season and been called into the squad for a major tournament so if his confidence is not high now, there's not a lot it will be high for," England defender Joleon Lescott said.

"Andy's always a handful to play against. He has great ability. International football is not just about that aerial threat but not many teams have the presence he brings."

Hodgson, taking charge of his first game since being hired as Fabio Capello's replacement barely three weeks ago, will be without his Chelsea contingent as they have been given extra time off following the team's victory in the Champions League final last weekend.

That means defenders Ashley Cole, John Terry and Gary Cahill — all probable starters at the Euros — will be missing against Norway. And with right back Glen Johnson also set to be absent with an infected toe, Hodgson will be putting out a makeshift defense too, hardly the ideal preparation with the France match a little more than two weeks away.

Lescott and youngsters Phil Jones and Martin Kelly — who has been drafted into the squad as temporary cover — may start in the Norwegian capital.

Hodgson hasn't had long to settle into his new job — his first training session with the players was on Thursday — but James Milner spoke about a feel-good factor among the squad which has been infused with youth.

"I think maybe the squad had a lot of players in it who had been to a lot of major tournaments before and maybe had suffered the expectations and the disappointments," the Manchester City midfielder said. "Maybe it does wear you down. Now we have that mix of younger players who haven't gone through that time and time again."

Norway hasn't qualified for the Euros. But with their emphasis on organization and the collective, the hosts could offer a similar challenge to England that Sweden, another Nordic country, will pose in Poland and Ukraine next month.