'I'd played seven minutes for England then went to World Cup – I got cabin fever in camp'

Stephen Warnock suffered with "cabin fever" after Fabio Capello called him up for the 2010 World Cup with just seven minutes of football at international level under his belt.

Left-back Warnock would rise through the ranks of Liverpool's youth academy before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2002, however, he would be loaned out to the likes of Bradford and Coventry City before getting his first big break at Blackburn Rovers in 2007.

After making 88 appearances in Lancashire, Warnock would make the move to Villa Park - and it was at this time that he would be called up by Capello. While chatting about England and the upcoming Euros in Germany with Sam Allardyce and Natalie Pike on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast on Thursday (June 13), the topic of conversation turned to his own stint with England.

Pike asked: "Stephen, of course you were in the World Cup squad in 2010 under Fabio Capello, what was it like to be in that World Cup bubble?" To which the former footballer responded: "I was probably one of them names now if you were doing the squad announcement where it would have been 'he wont make the squad'.

"I was like the one who was the surprise to get in there ahead of Leighton Baines. I didn't play any of the warm-up games leading into the World Cup - I'd played seven minutes of football for England leading into that World Cup."

Allardyce asked: "Did you get a cap for that?" To which he responded: "Yeah, you get a cap for that." Big Sam then comically added: "You don't have to say you played seven minutes to anybody, you just say 'look at my England cap'."

Warnock's aforementioned seven-minute stint for England would come in a 3-0 victory against Trinidad and Tobago in 2008, with Wayne Bridge making way for him at the time. His second appearance wouldn't come until after the World Cup in November of 2010, when he would come on as a substitute yet again - this time for Kieran Gibbs in the 76th minute during a 2-1 defeat to France.

While content to be a part of the squad, the former Leeds United man admitted that he knew he was unlikely to get any game time, with Ashley Cole far favoured in his position. He continued: "I was like front-row ticket, in the changing rooms, get to train with the players.

"I knew my role. I was sat behind Ashley Cole, the best left-back in the world. Between us we've got 109 caps but he's got 107 of them. So that is the problem."

He went on: "I knew I was never going to play at the World Cup unless Ash got injured, and then that was probably the opportunity - but he never got injured."

And he also touched on a hint of cabin fever while on tour with England, explaining that the complex the squad were staying in at the time gave them limited options in spending their free time. He explained: "We were literally in a purpose-built complex for the World Cup and we got put in this area and there was nothing round it.

"We couldn't go anywhere. Sun City was about half an hour away, and we got to the point where we were like we need to go and play golf there, get us out, just get us out.

"So a lot of the players' wives who'd gone over were staying in Sun City, so it got to the point where every couple of days we were allowed to go out to see Sun City. Some of them would see their wives, and some would play golf and things like that.

"And it was cabin fever - you're just on top of each other all of the time, so when we actually got out of the group, we started to move about a little bit more."

England would be knocked out of the World Cup in 2010 in the round of 16 by Germany after a 4-1 loss, despite having a star-studded squad including the likes of David James, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney. Goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski - as well as a brace from Thomas Muller - sent the Three Lions home from the competition early, with Matthew Upson's 37th minute goal all but a consolation prize.