WALCOTT WANTED FOR UNDER-21S

Arsenal forward Walcott, above, has told Pearce he wants to play, but the final decision will be made by Capello.

Having recovered from the shoulder operation that kept him out for four months to play in Arsenal’s run-in, Walcott is expected to return to the full England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan on June 6 and Andorra on June 10. England’s Under-21s kick off their tournament against Finland just five days after the Andorra clash, with the event scheduled to run until June 29.

Arsenal will start their pre-season in July, ahead of the August 15 kick-off to the new Premier League campaign and Capello is wary of burning out Walcott before next summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa.

Pearce is desperate to take his strongest squad to the Euro Championship and has told Capello that Walcott is vital if England are to have a chance of winning the tournament.