Reds boss Kenny Dalglish hinted that he would prefer his £35million striker not to be involved at all before Capello unveiled his latest squad but reluctantly accepted there was nothing he could do to prevent Carroll being called up.

In fact, Capello reinforced the belief Carroll was not fully fit after his recent thigh problem as he explained why the 22-year-old was not picked for Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifying win over Wales in Cardiff.

However, the England boss feels Carroll is capable of starting a friendly. And he insists there has been no pressure applied to limit the number of minutes the Liverpool striker's second cap lasts for.

"Absolutely no one has rung me and we have not spoken with Liverpool," said Capello.

"He needs to play. Liverpool will be happy for him to play.

"It is a friendly and he can play up to half-time, or more.

"For this reason, the game is important for him and for me."

Capello has already expressed high hopes for Carroll, although he does feel it could be another month before he returns to the form that earned him an international debut against France in November, when he was one of the few players to catch the eye.

In addition the England chief has already had a chat to emphasise the increased publicity that comes with wearing the Three Lions, although he is adamant Carroll's off-field habits are not beyond redemption.

"Not only Andy likes to drink beer," he said.

"He needs to improve, to drink less.

"I spoke with him, in private. He is really young and his behaviour now is important.

"He needs to be careful at every moment because when you play with the England national team you are the focus of the fans, the newspapers, the photographers, the people that live around him.

"Andy is not fit like he was in November. He is big, so he needs more games, three or four, minimum, to return to being the same player.

"But he is really good in the air and the movement when he receives the ball is excellent. He is strong too, a very good player."

Capello made the point that the same conversations with fellow rookie Jack Wilshere are not required due to Arsene Wenger's vast experience.

More tense conversations may be required over the release of Wilshere for this summer's European Under-21 Championships in Denmark, especially now he is establishing himself as a key component of Capello's senior squad.

Indeed, with five of his most experienced players released back to their clubs, and Aaron Lennon joining them this evening when he returned to Spurs as a precaution after experiencing discomfort in his hamstrings, Wilshere is one of the stand-out men to be retained.

Already there have been warnings from behind the scenes at West Ham about their worries for Scott Parker, who they would argue is even more important to a desperate survival fight than Wayne Rooney is to Manchester United's Champions League aspirations.

With three representatives in what is likely to be England's starting line-up, Manchester City's Champions League aspirations are most at risk.

But Capello has defended his selection criteria, which he claims is based on sheer number of games rather than the competitions they are being played in.

"I decided this because, if these players had played tomorrow, it would have been four games in 10 days. It is a lot," he said.

"Out of respect for the players and their clubs, I decided these players can go home because in this period, if you are tired, it is possible to get really serious injuries."

Capello certainly was not offering any apology to the sell-out crowd, the vast majority of whom will be supporting England, even if Ghana have sold a huge official allocation of 21,000.

"I know the fans might have bought tickets in advance but it will be really interesting to get to know some England players here," he said.

"It is different to play with the national team compared to the clubs, especially against a really good team like Ghana.

"FIFA arrange the dates, not us. If the official game was tomorrow, we wouldn't have played a friendly on Saturday.

"But this allows us to stay together for another two days and create a good spirit."