LONDON (Reuters) – Defender Rio Ferdinand withdrew from the England squad on Monday for their next two World Cup qualifiers after telling coach Roy Hodgson his pre-planned training regime would prevent him from playing.

Hodgson named Ferdinand in his squad for the first time for the Group H qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro, but said when he announced his squad on Thursday he had not spoken to the player first.

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) – Defender Rio Ferdinand withdrew from the England squad on Monday for their next two World Cup qualifiers after telling coach Roy Hodgson his pre-planned training regime would prevent him from playing.

Hodgson named Ferdinand in his squad for the first time for the Group H qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro, but said when he announced his squad on Thursday he had not spoken to the player first.

LONDON (Reuters) – Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea as they beat West Ham United 2-0 to move into third place in the Premier League above Tottenham Hotspur who suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Fulham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

FA Cup semi-finalists Wigan Athletic remained in the relegation zone despite a last-gasp 2-1 win over Newcastle United and Sunderland continued to flirt with danger at the wrong end of the table after drawing 1-1 with Norwich City.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Frank Lampard scored his 200th goal for Chelsea as they beat West Ham United 2-0 to move into third place in the Premier League above Tottenham Hotspur who suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Fulham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

FA Cup semi-finalists Wigan Athletic remained in the relegation zone despite a last-gasp 2-1 win over Newcastle United and Sunderland continued to flirt with danger at the wrong end of the table after drawing 1-1 with Norwich City.

LONDON (Reuters) – Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov severely dented in his old club’s Champions League ambitions when he scored the only goal for Fulham in their 1-0 Premier League win at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

The former Bulgarian international struck after 52 minutes when he turned in a pass from Sascha Riether as Spurs, who were unbeaten for 12 matches before last Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Liverpool, were beaten for the second successive league game.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov severely dented in his old club’s Champions League ambitions when he scored the only goal for Fulham in their 1-0 Premier League win at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

The former Bulgarian international struck after 52 minutes when he turned in a pass from Sascha Riether as Spurs, who were unbeaten for 12 matches before last Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Liverpool, were beaten for the second successive league game.

LONDON (Reuters) – Sunderland’s run without a Premier League win stretched to seven matches when they failed to beat 10-man Norwich City in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Norwich were forced to play for more than an hour without goalkeeper Mark Bunn who was sent off for handling outside the penalty area but held on for a point to keep them well clear of the relegation battle.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Sunderland’s run without a Premier League win stretched to seven matches when they failed to beat 10-man Norwich City in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Norwich were forced to play for more than an hour without goalkeeper Mark Bunn who was sent off for handling outside the penalty area but held on for a point to keep them well clear of the relegation battle.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) – Sunderland’s run without a Premier League win stretched to seven matches when they failed to beat 10-man Norwich City in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

Norwich were forced to play for more than an hour without goalkeeper Mark Bunn who was sent off for handling outside the penalty area but held on for a point to keep them well clear of the relegation battle.

LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was recalled to the England squad by Roy Hodgson after an absence of nearly two years on Thursday for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

Ferdinand, who made his debut for England 16 years ago and won the last of his 81 international caps in a friendly against Switzerland in June 2011, was snubbed for the Euro 2012 finals in what Hodgson described then as a “footballing decision”.