Dean Henderson is set for an opportunity to force himself back into the England squad for Euro 2024 after Crystal Palace teammate Sam Johnstone picked up an injury while on international duty.
The 27-year-old joined Palace from Manchester United on a permanent deal last summer but didn't make his debut until mid-December after recovering from a hamstring problem. Henderson then started eight Premier League matches in a row before being replaced by Johnstone.
New Palace boss Oliver Glasner has made Johnstone his No.1 since taking over from Roy Hodgson, with the ex-West Brom shot-stopper starting their last four games. However, Henderson is now expected to become first-choice once more as Johnstone faces a lengthy spell out on the sidelines.
The FA confirmed on Sunday that Johnstone had pulled out of the England squad after suffering an elbow injury in training. He is due to see a specialist to discover the full extent of the problem, but the Standard report that he is set to miss the Premier League run-in and faces a race against time to be fit for the Euros.
Henderson has not been named in an England squad since September 2022 when he was an unused substitute against Italy and Germany in the Nations League. In fact, he has just one England cap to his name, coming off the bench for the second-half in a 3-0 victory over Republic of Ireland in November 2020.
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But with Johnstone now out injured, Henderson has a golden chance to show Southgate why he should be part of the Three Lions squad for this summer's tournament. England kickstart their Euros campaign with a game against Serbia on June 16 before facing Group C counterparts Denmark and Slovenia.
It's a perfect chance for Henderson, who was also left unimpressed by his lack of game time when he was at United. In August 2022, he sensationally hit out at the Red Devils for not fulfilling their promise to make him the club's No.1, describing the time wasted in his career as "criminal".
Dean Henderson will be hoping he can force himself into the England squad (Getty Images)After spending two years out on loan at Sheffield United, Henderson returned to United ahead of the 2020/21 season and made 26 appearances across all competitions that campaign. However, his minutes were drastically reduced in the following season, having played just three matches.
"To be honest, it has probably been the toughest 12 months of my career," Henderson told talkSPORT at the time. "The conversation I had coming out of the Euros squad was 'you're coming back here to be the number one'
"I got Covid-19, came back, so I should have still been the number one but then nobody followed through with what they had told me. It was frustrating, because I turned down so many good loans last summer for that reason, and they would not let me go. To sit there for 12 months, it is criminal really, at my age, I was fuming.
Dean Henderson (Getty Images)"I told the hierarchy that I need to be playing football and to let me go, and I was almost gone before the manager (Erik ten Hag) came through the door. I have not spoken to him since."
Henderson moved to Nottingham Forest on loan for the 2022/23 season and cemented his place as the club's first-choice up until suffering a season-ending injury against Leicester last January. He made 20 appearances at The Reds before returning to United and leaving on a permanent deal in the summer.
Palace travel to Forest in their first game after the international break on Saturday, before making the trip to Bournemouth three days later. The Eagles currently sit 14th in the Premier League table, eight points clear of the relegation zone after Forest were handed a four-point deduction.
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