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However the birth of his first child and a finger injury have meant Kirkland has missed previous England squads.
But with Paul Robinson droppng another clanger whilst playing for England and David James not getting any younger, Chris Hutchings believes his goalkeeper is a genuine option to those two.
Hutch said: "He's a quality goalkeeper and I have every faith in him to do a job, whether it be for Wigan or England.
"He's had a few injuries and I imagine Steve would want to see him in the first few games of this season and how he's performing.
"And if he keeps clean sheets and the team performs well then I see no reason why he can't get back in that squad.
"But that's up to Steve to come down. I'm sure he will have had people at the games anyway, monitoring his progress, and we'll have to wait and see when the next squad's announced whether he's included or not."
Like his club career, Kirklands England career has been dogged by injuries. After over-coming his latest injury to start the new season, Kirkland will hope to get a full season underneath his belt, which will hopefully lead to new England chances.
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