CHERRIES striker Sam Surridge admitted his surprise at earning a late call-up to the England under-21 squad and said: “I didn’t expect it at all.”

The talented frontman, currently on loan at Swansea, came into Aidy Boothroyd’s setup as a late replacement along with Ben Wilmot and Conor Gallagher.

They were selected following the withdrawals of Morgan Gibbs-White, Reiss Nelson and Mason Greenwood.

Surridge was driving back to Dorset from Wales to see family when he heard the news.

Explaining how his call-up came about, the former Parley First pupil told the FA website: “It was about 10.30pm on Sunday night when Coops (Swansea boss Steve Cooper) called me and then Aidy called straight me after to give me the details.

“I didn’t expect it at all, so it was nice. I was going home to see my dad and I told him as soon as I got in and he wasn’t expecting it either but he was over the moon.

“I then had to try and get everything sorted but luckily I had my passport on me because all my stuff is in Swansea.

“I didn’t think we’d be meeting up until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I got picked up at 8.30am on Monday, not really knowing what was in store, so it was all quite surreal.

“It’s been a hectic two days, but I’ve loved it and it’s been a good feeling. I’ve never been in an England squad before, so it was completely out of the blue.”

Surridge could take to the field when England visit Slovenia for a friendly on Friday or host Austria in a UEFA Euro 2021 Under-21 qualifier on Tuesday.

“It feels like I’ve fitted right in and the first game’s on Friday so I’m looking forward to that,” he added.

“Even just going away with England to Slovenia is a big thing for me. I’ve never been to Slovenia so I really don’t know what to expect, it’ll be a great experience.

“We want to get results and they must’ve brought me in not just for my development but obviously for a reason. If I can manage to get on the pitch, I can hopefully show what I can do.”