MIDDLESBROUGH full-back Franck Queudrue has thrown his weight behind the growing campaign to get teammate Ugo Ehiogu named in the England squad for Euro 2004.

Ehiogu won the last of his four England caps against Italy in March 2002, and his hopes of a summer recall looked to have evaporated when he was overlooked for the recent friendlies in Portugal and Sweden.

But, with Gareth Southgate and Jonathan Woodgate both ruled out for the rest of the domestic season, England boss Sven Goran Eriksson is having to reassess his defensive options.

Sol Campbell and John Terry remain certainties for Eriksson's 24-man squad, but Ehiogu will compete with the likes of Ledley King and Matthew Upson in the event of either Southgate or Woodgate failing to prove their fitness before the Swede names his provisional party on May 17.

Ehiogu missed the first four months of the campaign with a serious knee injury but, since then, the former Aston Villa centre-half has rediscovered his best form at the heart of the Boro backline.

Queudrue has seen the 31-year-old at close quarters in recent weeks, and is confident he has what it takes to step into the breach this summer.

"Ugo deserves to go to Portugal with England because, since he came back from injury, he's been really strong," said the French full-back. "He's such a consistent player. He's taken the skipper's place and he's played like a skipper.

"He is a clever player, he's good in the air and he's strong in a duel.

"It's hard to get past him because it takes you half an hour to get around him! That's one of his main strengths.

"I think he deserves a chance. There might be a bit of an opening through Gareth's injury and I hope he gets his chance."

Southgate remains confident he will shake off his knee trouble in time to make England's opening Euro 2004 fixture with France on June 13.

The 33-year-old has forged a profitable partnership with Ehiogu since moving to the Riverside in July 2001 and, while it remains highly improbable, Queudrue believes Eriksson could do a lot worse than transferring their double act on to the international arena.

"It's not impossible that Ugo and Gareth could play together for England," he said. "It will be harder for Gareth because he still needs more time to recover from his injury.

"Ugo plays very well alongside Gareth because they know each other's game inside out.

"It's very important to know the partner alongside you because you've got to trust him. That's the most important point - if you trust your partner you can be free in your mind and you will play better."

Queudrue has international ambitions of his own but, like compatriot Olivier Bernard at Newcastle, the Paris-born defender suffers from being up against some of the best defenders in the world.

Bayern Munich defender Bixente Lizarazu has made the French left-back spot his own in recent years and, with Manchester United's Mikael Silvestre and Roma's Vincent Candela also pressing their claims, the door to the France side has remained resolutely shut.

"I've had a decent season," said Queudrue. "But there are other French players that have had decent seasons as well.

"Next season will be the first we have played in Europe so we need to improve another four or five levels to get everyone talking about us."

* Veteran Middlesbrough centre-half Colin Cooper is unlikely to play again this season after suffering knee ligament damage playing for the reserves against Blackburn on Tuesday night.

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