LEE Bowyer and Jonathon Woodgate will end their three years in the international wilderness against Portugal on Saturday, after being called up to the England squad.

Sven Goran Eriksson has had to do without the exciting midfielder and classy defender since he took over at the helm of the national side in January 2001.

Exactly a year earlier the Leeds United pair hit the national news after the assault of Sarfraz Najeib in Leeds city centre.

The Football Association decided that the two would not be considered for international duty until the trial was concluded, this was delayed by a further eight months as a retrial was necessary.

Finally, last December Bowyer was cleared of all charges while Woodgate was charged with the lesser offence of affray, for which he was awarded 100 hours community service.

Even so, neither 25-year-old Bowyer nor 22-year-old Woodgate were chosen for the World Cup squad.

Although he has been one of the Premiership's top defenders for the past four years, Woodgate has just one England cap to his name after playing in Bulgaria under Kevin Keegan in June 1999.

That was "a dream come true" for Woodgate, the Middlesbrough-born lad who had made his Leeds bow just a few months before, after progressing through the ranks at Elland Road alongside Harry Kewell and Paul Robinson.

Boss George Graham had been unwilling to give him a run in the first team for a long time, but his replacement David O'Leary gave the 18-year-old central defender his Leeds debut in his second game in charge in October 1998.

Woodgate proved himself alongside Lucas Radebe and later formed an excellent partnership with Rio Ferdinand, but his form took a dramatic turn for the worse when the Najeib trial began in Febraury 2001.

Injury problems kept him out of the Leeds team for much of that period, however it was no surprise to see him quickly return to the first team once the trial was over.

Again his partnership with Ferdinand looked rock solid, and there are those who feel that he would be a more consistent presence alongside Rio in the England back four than Sol Campbell.

While Woodgate has always been with Leeds, Bowyer began his career with Charlton Athletic and courted controversy in March 1995 when he tested positive for using marijuana in a random FA drugs test.

He had already represented his country at several youth levels before that and seemed to be going in the right direction when he made his under-21 debut in October 1995.

The following summer he became the most expensive teenager in the country when Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson signed him for £2.7 million.

He scored on his Leeds debut but struggled to find his best form, and within months was charged with affray and fined £4,500 after trashing a McDonalds restaurant.

But, as with Woodgate, O'Leary brought the best out of Bowyer and in 1998-99 he was named as Leeds' player of the season and nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Despite something of a blip in form last season, Bowyer has been one of England's finest box-to-box midfielders since then, and would have made the national squad for both Euro 2000 and the World Cup if he had been judged on his talent alone.

But following the trial his future is not certain in West Yorkshire. He is yet to sign a new contract with Leeds, unhappy as he was at being handed a club fine of £64,000 despite being cleared of all charges relating to the court case.

He almost moved to Liverpool for £9 million in the summer, but that fell through at the last minute and so at present he remains a Leeds United player.

New boss Terry Venables is not complaining, after Bowyer's season has started with two goals and a series of top performances already.

Yesterday on confirming their inclusion in his squad, Eriksson said: "Woodgate is a very big talent. Bowyer is doing very well, has a lot of energy and can play in any position across midfield.

"You can't punish people all of their lives and now it is over it is time to pick them. If you have done something stupid it doesn't mean that you will necessarily do stupid things all your life."

Eriksson is correct, and while the two have been involved in events that go beyond being just "stupid", let us now hope that the next chapter of their respective careers brings about a happy ending for England in the European Championships of 2004.