Gareth Southgate includes Brighton star Danny Welbeck in shock addition to England’s 55-man World Cup squad

DANNY WELBECK has been named in Gareth Southgate's 55-man provisional England squad for the Qatar World Cup.

According to The Athletic, the striker will be joined by his Brighton team-mate Lewis Dunk in the selection.

Welbeck, 31, has 42 senior caps but has not made an international appearance since 2018.

Although his form and flexibility this season, with three goals and the same amount of assists, has caught the eye of Southgate.

Welbeck has 16 goals for England, his last coming against Costa Rica in 2018.

Since making his debut in 2011, the forward has played in four major tournaments, in a pair of World Cups and European Championships.

But the ex-Manchester United and Arsenal star has not played in any of England's 2022 World Cup qualifiers, nor did he play in last year's Euros.

Team-mate Dunk, 30, has only been capped by England once, in a November 2018 friendly against the US.

The centre-back helped keep a clean sheet in a 3-0 win at Wembley.

Southgate is faced with trimming his squad to 26 players by November 14, although England are set to name theirs four days earlier.

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One man racing to be fit is Chelsea right-back Reece James, who is currently nursing a knee injury.

James, 22, has flown out to Dubai in a last-ditch effort to help speed along his rehabilitation from injury he suffered in Chelsea's 2-0 win against AC Milan.

The defender was given an eight-week timeline to fully recover from his injury, with the Three Lions squad due to be picked in half that time.