Kevin Davies, the 33-year-old Bolton Wanderers striker, has earned his first formal England call-up to a squad that also features Robert Green, Jack Wilshere and Wayne Rooney.

Fabio Capello's squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro at Wembley tomorrow week is littered with surprises, and includes recalls for Joe Cole, Green, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Aaron Lennon.

But it is the inclusion of Davies that will raise the most eyebrows as England look to maintain their 100% start to Group G.

Ahead of Bolton's Premier League draw with Manchester United last month, Davies spoke of his unfulfilled international ambitions. "I was in the expanded squad a couple of times but even when a few players pulled out and I thought I had a chance, someone else got called up," he said.

Little did he know at the time that Capello was looking at him closely.

And, while Rooney has been given the green light to join up, with Bobby Zamora and Gabriel Agbonlahor ruled out through injury, Emile Heskey refusing to end his international retirement and Andy Carroll bypassed after a recent dip in form at Newcastle, Davies has shot ahead in the queue.

Whether a player who has served Bolton for seven full seasons actually gets to make an appearance remains to be seen.

Only this morning, quotes have been released by the FA confirming the Italian's belief that Darren Bent could be a pivotal player in the future, while Peter Crouch – also named in the squad – went to the World Cup.

Indeed, counting Ferdinand, 14 members of Capello's World Cup squad are named, including Cole and Lennon, who have not been selected since.

Cole has endured a far from smooth ride since his arrival at Liverpool from Chelsea, and his dismissal on his Premier League debut against Arsenal in August and the suspension that followed were contributing factors to his missing the qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Both of those were won, with Phil Jagielka contributing towering central-defensive performances in the absence of Ferdinand and Terry.

As Jagielka keeps his place, Capello faces a tricky dilemma when he names his line-up. The same could also be said of the captaincy, given the mature manner in which Steven Gerrard handled the fall-out from Rooney's off-field problems last month.

In addition, Ferdinand has been overlooked for the honour at Manchester Uniteddue to his questionable fitness record.

For Green, it will be a chance to show he can recover from the nightmare handling error against the USA at the World Cup last summer, which set the tone for England's dismal campaign.

With James Milner suspended, Wilshere gets a call, although he will only report for duty after England's Under-21 Championship play-off first leg against Romania at Norwich on Friday, while Tom Huddlestone has been rewarded for his fine form for Tottenham Hotspur.

England squad for European qualifier against Montenegro on 12 October

Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Birmingham City), Robert Green (West Ham United), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

Midfielders Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Joe Cole (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

Forwards Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Kevin Davies (Bolton Wanderers), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)