He made a return to action during the 2003/04 season, after having been sidelined for eight months with a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Hodgson has received criticism for not being Jonny Wilkinson and his inconsistent goal kicking, which was partly responsible for England's disappointing performance in the 2005 Six Nations championship.

Whilst playing for England against South Africa on 18 November 2006, Hodgson ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee that ensured he would miss the rest of the 2006/07 season.

During his time away from the England set-up, Hodgson had improved his defence enough to impress the new coach, Martin Johnson.

He was selected at fly-half for the first test but was subbed early in the second half because of some defensive errors most notably the missed tackle on centre Ma'a Nonu which led to a try.

[citation needed] Hodgson was included in Johnson's squad to tour Australia in June 2010, although he did not play in the Tests.

[10] Although not originally in England's squad for the 2010 autumn internationals, Hodgson was called up as cover after Wilkinson suffered a shoulder injury.

Sale Sharks is where Hodgson has seen his greatest success in winning the 2005/06 Guinness Premiership in a dominant victory over Leicester Tigers at Twickenham.

Although he missed the start of the 2010/11 season, he recovered to take his place in Sale's team in September.

He passed the landmark in a match against Gloucester; Hodgson assumed the role of captain for the game and victory helped Sale avoid relegation.