Wright-Phillips in line for call-up as Barton misses out
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Your support makes all the difference.Fabio Capello will be at Loftus Road on Sunday to watch Shaun Wright-Phillips , who is on the brink of an England recall, against Aston Villa, but the Italian has no plans to call Wright-Phillips' Queen's Park Rangers' team-mate Joey Barton into the squad to face Montenegro next month.
Capello is also considering a first senior England call-up for Chelsea's striker Daniel Sturridge, providing the 22-year-old recovers in time from a knee injury picked up during Wednesday's Carling Cup tie against Fulham. The player was substituted after 44 minutes following a blow to his knee but is expected to be back for next Wednesday's game against Valencia at the latest.
The Capello camp are weighing up their options for the last Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on 7 October with a number of key midfielders still absent through injury. Jack Wilshere has no chance of being fit for the squad announcement a week on Sunday, and Steven Gerrard is not expected to have played enough for Liverpool, despite a comeback on Wednesday night after a six-month absence.
Nevertheless, Capello's staff do not envisage a call-up for Barton who won his only England cap as a substitute against Spain in February 2007. While Capello has always maintained to his advisers that he is open-minded about the merits of any player, they feel that introducing Barton to the squad for such an important game would be a mistake. On top of that, their scouting reports of him have not provided a compelling case that he is playing well enough.
Wright-Phillips is a different case. The QPR winger has impressed with his two performances for the club against Newcastle and Wolves.
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