Andrew Johnson's World Cup dream could still become a reality after he was named as a stand-by in Sven Goran Eriksson's provisional 23-man squad for Germany.

The Eagles striker has not featured in Eriksson's last few squads and it was feared the Swede felt Johnson was no longer part of his plans.

But the England boss has placed Johnson alongside fellow striker Jermain Defoe on the stand-by list in front of Charlton striker Darren Bent who failed to make the cut.

Crystal Palace assistant manager Neil McDonald was delighted by the news and feels Johnson has earned the right to be in the reckoning judging by his performances in a Palace shirt over the past few seasons.

McDonald said: "I'm thrilled he's on stand-by but I think he should be in the initial 23-man squad.

"It's just reward for the work he's done over the past three years. For the goals he scored in the club's promotion season, being the top English scorer in the Premiership last year and being up there among the top scorers in the Championship, despite missing a large part of this season through injury."

With injury doubts surrounding Eriksson's two main strikers ,Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, McDonald believes Johnson would be a useful addition to the squad and could fill the gap left by the possible withdrawals of Eriksson's favoured strikers.

"I rate him very highly," said McDonald. "He's not afraid to get hurt to get to the ball and he asks questions of defenders at every level-he's played at. He's a level headed guy and definitely someone you would want in your side."

If Johnson does make the final squad, the striker will team up with remaining strikers Peter Crouch and Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott.

The inclusion of 17-year-old Walcott was the biggest story of Eriksson's squad after the ex-Southampton star was given the nod over seasoned goal scorers, despite not making a first team appearance for Arsenal since he joined last January and only making 14 career appearances in total.

Although he admits there is no doubting Walcott's talent, McDonald feels for the strikers who missed out in favour of the teenager's inclusion.

McDonald added: "Walcott is a very talented player but he hasn't played. You would like to think players who have been playing regularly and scoring regularly would be given a place in the squad and AJ has done that. But it's up to the manager at the end of the day."

Ex-Croydon schools midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker joins Johnson on the stand-by list after an impressive debut Premiership season with West Ham.

The 21-year-old is the current England U21 captain and made the stand-by list despite not featuring in one of Eriksson's squads in the past.