Of all the qualities demanded of an England manager – the authority of a Sergeant-Major, the patience and principles of a saint, the skin of a rhinoceros – diplomacy has appeared to be as important as any in recent years. Sven-Göran Eriksson characterised it as a job that involved give and take, but Fabio Capello, it seems, is determined to make some kind of stance in the club-versus-country battles that have shown only weakness in some of his predecessors.

Capello agreed to omit Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney from his squad to take on Germany in Berlin on Wednesday, with both players missing Manchester United’s 5-0 victory over Stoke City on Saturday, but he has taken issue with Liverpool’s decision to rule out Steven Gerrard, whose muscle tear came to light only after the club’s 2-0 victory away to Bolton Wanderers, for which he lasted the duration.

Having earlier been ruled out of action by Liverpool for “seven to ten days”, Gerrard was asked to report to the team hotel in Hertfordshire last night and, while he and his club expect him to be released once he has been assessed by the England medical staff this morning, Capello’s stance represents a shift, or at least an attempted shift, in the perennial power struggles between club and country.

Perhaps Capello’s resolve in this instance was strengthened by his experience with Gerrard – or, more specifically, with Liverpool – in August. The midfield player had been due to play an integral role in England’s opening World Cup qualifying matches away to Andorra and Croatia in September, but, days before Capello was to announce the squad, the England manager learnt from Liverpool – indirectly, which increased his annoyance – that Gerrard was to undergo surgery on the groin injury that had restricted him in the opening weeks of the season. The news came out moments after he had played 120 minutes of a Champions League qualifying match at home to Standard Liège and, unsurprisingly perhaps, Capello was not happy.

On that occasion, Capello – not the most communicative of managers, it should be said – made a call to Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, to demand an explanation and, moreover, a greater sense of cooperation in the future. BenÍtez described the conversation as “positive” – he always does – and said that there would be no such problems in future. As if eager to ensure that he had the last word, he added that Gerrard was “our player”.

And that is where the issue lies. The clubs pay the players’ wages and, as they see it, they deserve the right to withdraw their asset from international duty when there is a risk involved. That is the case here. Contrary to popular myth, players do not pull out of England matches when they are 100 per cent fit. Gerrard, aware of Capello’s feelings on the matter, would not allow that to happen. The Liverpool captain is carrying an injury, as are Ferdinand, Rooney, Emile Heskey and others, but it is a question of how serious those injuries are and whether a minor injury, one that could do with being rested, gives a club or a player a right to say that he cannot play for his national team.

What is clear is that, whereas Eriksson would almost always acquiesce, the damage having long been done before he finally stood up to Sir Alex Ferguson – wrongly some would argue, over Wayne Rooney’s broken metatarsal before the 2006 World Cup finals – Capello appears determined to make a stand in this instance. The irony is that Capello can still not find a place for Michael Owen, perhaps the one player in recent history who has been accused of putting England’s interests ahead of his club’s. Fitness is a problem for Owen, but there is little doubt that the Newcastle United forward would show up for duty if he was given the chance to do so. As it happens, he must now wonder whether he has slipped to seventh choice, or even lower, in the queue for a place up front.

England squad

Goalkeepers: S Carson (West Bromwich Albion), P Robinson (Blackburn Rovers), D James (Portsmouth).

Defenders: W Bridge (Chelsea), C Davies (Aston Villa), G Johnson (Portsmouth), J Terry (Chelsea, captain), J Lescott (Everton), M Mancienne (Chelsea; on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers), M Richards (Manchester City), M Upson (West Ham).

Midfield players: G Barry (Aston Villa), M Carrick (Manchester United), S Downing (Middlesbrough), F Lampard (Chelsea), S Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), A Young (Aston Villa).

Forwards: G Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), D Bent (Tottenham), P Crouch (Portsmouth), J Defoe (Portsmouth), T Walcott (Arsenal).

*Replacement for S Gerrard (Liverpool) to be announced.