Stewart Downing has admitted that he feared he would never play for England again before his recent return from the international wilderness.

The West Ham United midfielder has been recalled to the Three Lions squad after a two-year absence for the matches against Slovenia and Scotland this week.

"It did go through my mind that I wouldn't play again," Downing told reporters.

"I was coming up to the age of 30, I was in a difficult situation at Liverpool and the main thing was to try and get into their team - never mind England. I got back into the team and my form started to pick up and the move to West Ham came at the right time for me.

"It was a difficult time in my career but every players goes through it. It was all about timing - Roy [Hodgson] got the job and I went through a little bit of a dip in form. I'm just itching to play again now. I think Roy has been speaking to Sam Allardyce about my form."

Downing, 30, has contributed two goals and four assists for the Hammers this season to help them to fourth in the Premier League table.