Capello will tomorrow confirm the 30 players he will take to Austria for two training camps before settling on the 23 who will carry the hopes of a nation.

As ever, injuries will play a part. The fitness of Rio Ferdinand, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, Wes Brown and, to a lesser extent, Wayne Rooney needs to be taken into account before Capello reaches his conclusions.

And while Capello is apparently not concerned about the groin injury that ended Rooney's domestic season with Manchester United 13 minutes early yesterday, it is clear the England coach has a few difficulties.

"We have some problems," he said. "We have three or four hours to decide."

Barry is believed to be the major concern.

Such a key figure in Capello's teams since the Italian was installed as Steve McClaren's successor in December 2007, Barry will only be discarded if there is no possibility of him being fit for South Africa.

Capello has already lost one player of huge experience in midfield due to David Beckham's ruptured Achilles, and the England boss will be loathe to abandon another without being certain the ankle ligament damage Barry suffered against Tottenham last week is terminal for any meaningful World Cup participation.

Michael Carrick did not start any of Manchester United's final seven games of the season, but Capello knows him and he should be safe, at least for now, whilst Owen Hargreaves' slim hopes of being involved surely disappeared when he returned home from Old Trafford ill prior to the Red Devils encounter with Stoke.

Even in a 30-man squad, there would appear to be only three places available for Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing and Adam Johnson.

The latter man has never been picked for a senior squad but is arguably in the best form.

Capello's trusted right-hand man Franco Baldini saw him in action against West Ham at Upton Park yesterday, when Wright-Phillips scored with a rare header.

Cole has improved since being left out of the most recent friendly against Egypt and scored the vital opener at Manchester United.

Whether that is enough to sway Capello remains to be seen, although with Beckham missing, there is a need for the guile Cole can bring to a team.

In defence, Ferdinand, John Terry, Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole and Matthew Upson are automatic choices, but the names of Jamie Carragher and Ledley King, neither of whom have played a single match for England under Capello, have been mentioned so often in the last few days that the Italian is clearly having doubts over his defensive strength.

"I am happy because he played four games in 15 days," said Capello of King's recent burst of appearances.

"I followed him and watched the games. His performances have been good."

If both King and Carragher go to Austria, it seems certain Lescott and the now fit-again Gary Cahill will not.

Wes Brown's star has waned as well, although options to fill the right-back berth are not exactly numerous, although that is where Carragher may come in.

Michael Dawson's body is in a better state than that of King, who has played three games in the past week, but still cannot train as well.

That could mean both Tottenham central defenders are present in Austria, and for the friendlies against Mexico at Wembley on May 24 and Japan in Graz six days later.

Both Bobby Zamora and Darren Bent have seemingly received letters from the FA indicating they should leave space in their diaries for the Austria trip, which would be bad news for either Gabriel Agbonlahor or Carlton Cole.

Zamora has Wednesday's Europa League final to occupy his mind, although he was not even selected for the defeat to Brazil in Qatar when Bent started, but was largely ineffective.

In truth, the presence of either man in South Africa would be a surprise, although at this stage, staying in the contest is more important than actually winning it as Capello approaches his own date with destiny.

"Throughout my career, the target has always been to finish first," said Capello.

"This time it is to make the final because I have a lot of confidence in my team."