YORK City junior Chris Hogg lifted the spirits at Bootham Crescent today after earning a call- up to the England Under-15s' squad.

The teenage City centre-half is one of just two players from clubs outside the Premiership or First Division to earn selection to the 20-man squad.

Hogg, who hails from Middlesbrough but has been coached at Bootham Crescent for the last three years, will link up with the England squad on October 18 before the young lions tackle Northern Ireland in Belfast on October 20.

Hogg, a member of City's under-16 squad, was chosen after impressing selectors during recent trials at Lilleshall.

"He has done really well especially when you look at the company he is in," said a delighted Brian Neaves, City's assistant youth coach.

"He is in the squad to meet Northern Ireland and if he does okay then there are games coming up against Wales and Scotland in November and December."

Hogg joins a growing list of youngsters who have come up through the ranks at Bootham Crescent to go on and earn international call-ups.

Both Leicester City's Richard Cresswell and Manchester United's Jonathan Greening have earned England Under-21 caps - Cresswell's coming while still a York player.

Goalkeeper Russ Howarth has been capped by England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 level while midfielder Christian Fox has been a member of both the Under-16 and Under-18 squads.

Hogg, together with fellow City juniors Graeme Law and Levent Yalcin, was recently part of the a 16-man squad chosen to represent the North East at coaching festival for the best English schoolboys at Keele University, Staffordshire.

City boss Terry Dolan today revealed left-side player Graham Potter has been unable to train for the last couple of days suffering from stiff hamstrings.

Young midfielder Marc Thompson will also miss tomorrow's reserve match at home to Darlington having gone down with tonsilitis.

To add to the City chief's woes, centre-back Gary Hobson, who came off during the first-half of Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Exeter, had to drop out of training yesterday with a recurrence of a knee injury first suffered during pre-season.

The City boss said he had made "one or two" inquiries as he looks to bring a striker in on loan but insisted he would not be rushed into bringing a new face.