Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad | England

Thomas Tuchel has named Marcus Rashford in his first England squad, bringing the Aston Villa forward in from the international wilderness to complete a stunning turnaround in his fortunes.

There is also a surprise return for Jordan Henderson, who is at Ajax and last played for England in November 2023, and Tuchel has given first call-ups to Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly. Jarell Quansah, Reece James and Kyle Walker are also included along with Rashford’s Villa teammates Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa.

Notable absentees are Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis, together with James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes. Also on the outside are Adam Wharton, who has been regaining fitness after a groin injury, and Ben White. Tuchel said White was not ready having made his first start in four months only this week but that the Arsenal defender had made himself available to return. There is also no place for Jarrad Branthwaite.

Rashford has shown flashes of his old self since his loan move to Villa from Manchester United in the winter transfer window, even though he has not scored and has started only once in the Premier League. The 27-year-old has supplied four assists in all competitions for Villa.

Tuchel, who confirmed Harry Kane would continue as the captain, has seen enough and he pointed to Rashford’s work off the ball at Villa as he prepares for the World Cup qualifiers at Wembley against Albania next Friday and Latvia the following Monday.

“He had a huge impact lately in the matches of Aston Villa,” Tuchel said in an FA video. “I was delighted to see his effort [without] the ball, his effort to be the best teammate possible, his consistent energy in defence with Aston Villa. There is no doubt about his talent, about his quality, but to see him be so decisive, to be so physically involved, gave me the impression that it is the right moment to call him up and give him the extra push that he stays on that level.”

Rashford won the most recent of his 60 England caps in the 1-0 friendly loss to Brazil at Wembley last March when he came on as a 75th-minute substitute and struggled sorely – a performance of a piece with his toils last season when his form nose-dived under Erik ten Hag at United.

Rashford had enjoyed the most productive season of his career in 2022-23, scoring 30 goals in all competitions, but the situation became untenable for him at United under Ruben Amorim over the first half of this campaign. The United manager repeatedly questioned his attitude and at one point, even said that he would rather name the 63-year-old goalkeeper coach, Jorge Vital, as a substitute than Rashford.

Henderson fell out of favour under Gareth Southgate after a disastrous move from Liverpool to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, and a subsequent transfer to Ajax in January 2024 was not enough to earn him a recall. Tuchel talked up the energy that Henderson will bring to the squad as he explained the inclusion.

“The way he plays now and imposes himself at Ajax is just so impressive and he builds it on character, on personality, on energy that he brings to the team,” he said. “So for me Jordan is a bit a similar call-up for the same reasons as Dan Burn: they carry these values on their shoulders, they carry their teams and it’s absolutely reliable what they bring in terms of energy and this is where the focus is also for us; to build as quick as possible a strong team, a cohesive team. Jordan is a big piece in that puzzle for us.”

Tuchel said he had considered whether to include Lewis-Skelly in the under-21s to place less scrutiny on the 18-year-old after a “fast-forward” season but concluded that the Arsenal player’s performances and injuries to other left-backs meant it was best to include him. The presence of players such as Henderson was important to help the young squad members, he said.

Tuchel, who has called up four goalkeepers, had created a 55-man longlist. Players including Ollie Watkins, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Bukayo Saka, Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw are injured. Ethan Nwaneri is, as expected, with the under-21s.

Tuchel said he wanted the side to play in a Premier League style by increasing “the intensity and rhythm” and that his plan was to “inject a bit of club football” into the national team setup. “We need to be brave enough to play like an England squad,” he said. “We should reflect the values of the country and the Premier League, which is the best league in the world.”