London - Tottenham Hotspur defender Ledley King pulled out of the England squad for matches against Slovakia and Ukraine because of injury.

King has a chronic knee problem that makes it difficult for him to play two matches in succession.

The FA said that King would miss the friendly with Slovakia on Saturday, as well as the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on April 1.

"Both parties agreed the best interests of the player are served by continuing his individual training programme at the club," the FA said in a statement. (dpa)