JAMES Trafford has been given his first call-up to the full England squad for Tuesday night’s friendly against Belgium.

The Burnley goalkeeper, who spent 18 months on loan with Bolton Wanderers from Manchester City, replaces the injured Sam Johnstone.

Trafford helped England’s Under-21s win the Euros last summer and has played regular football in the Premier League at Turf Moor this season.

He got the nod ahead of Rangers’ Jack Butland and was promoted from the Under-21s after playing 90 minutes in a 5-1 win in Azerbaijan last Friday.

The call-up means that Trafford will not be in the Young Lions squad that turns out against Luxembourg at the Toughsheet Stadium, however, with the keeper’s position most likely to go to Wigan Athletic’s Sam Tickle.

Manchester City’s Rico Lewis has also been bumped up to the senior squad as Gareth Southgate looks for cover for Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker, who both picked up injuries in Saturday evening’s 1-0 defeat against Brazil.

Trafford had played the first 28 league games of the season for Burnley but was dropped for Arijanet Muric last weekend in a 2-1 win against Brentford.

Explaining the decision, manager Vincent Kompany said: “Aro was good, he was really good.

“It’s one of the positions where I have the luxury of having two good players, so at any given time I can make a decision that I think is best for the team.

“It’s not a big decision, it’s not a difficult decision, it’s just two good players fighting it out and I won’t shy away from having that luxury in as many positions as I can.”

Wanderers played a big part in Trafford’s footballing journey, bringing him on loan from Manchester City in January 2022 and extending that loan the following season.

During that time he played 74 games in all competitions and helped the team lift the Papa Johns Trophy at Wembley last April.

After winning the Euros without conceding, and saving a penalty in the final, Trafford then moved to Burnley in a big-money deal in the summer.

He since has dropped in to watch several Wanderers games and keeps in touch with his former team-mates.