Bentley out of Under-21s

Blackburn winger David Bentley has withdrawn from the England Under-21 European Championship squad due to fatigue.

The 22-year-old played more than 50 games for Blackburn this season and his club boss Mark Hughes had raised concerns over burn-out.

Stuart Pearce named Bentley in his 23-man squad for the Holland finals and Bentley was due to meet up with his under-21 team-mates on Friday after travelling to Estonia with the seniors this week.

Bentley has had an eventful under-21 career and will not be eligible for the next qualifying campaign.

He was dropped from the squad by former boss Peter Taylor for disciplinary reasons before earning a recall and scoring the first goal by an Englishman at the new Wembley Stadium, curling in a free-kick against Italy Under-21.

The under-21s have not been beaten since 2005 but they travel to Holland without Theo Walcott and Micah Richards, who are injured, while Gabriel Agbonlahor could not be contacted before the squad was announced.