Roy Hodgson has decided to promote Wilfried Zaha to the England squad for the friendly against Scotland as a reward for his impressive pre-season form since joining Manchester United.

Zaha, the stand-out player on United's summer tour, will be in the squad Hodgson names on Thursday after a glowing reference from his club manager, David Moyes.

Hodgson was informed that the former Crystal Palace player has not just impressed during United's schedule of friendly fixtures but has also looked sharp in training and is already showing signs of improvement. Zaha, signed for an initial £10m with a further £5m in possible add-ons, was a member of Stuart Pearce's unsuccessful squad in the Under-21 European Championship this summer but has already won his first cap at senior level, having played the last six minutes of the friendly game in Sweden in November 2012, four days after turning 20.

The discussions between Hodgson and Moyes also took in Wayne Rooney and the current impasse between player and club. If Rooney, citing a shoulder injury, does not play in Rio Ferdinand's testimonial on Friday, or the Community Shield against Wigan Athletic two days later, it will be difficult for Hodgson to make a case for him to feature against Scotland. If there is any chance of him being involved, however, Hodgson will name Rooney in his squad anyway and wait to see how the player's fitness develops. Hodgson's calls over the last few days have focused on the familiar story of player injuries, with Daniel Welbeck the only fully fit striker available unless the England manager bucks his normal policy and goes outside his usual pool of players. Hodgson, who will take part in the annual Sir Bobby Robson day on Saturday, wants to play as strong a team as possible given the history of the match and the fact England are getting ready for World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine in September, followed by Montenegro and Poland in October.