Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, believes that Fabio Capello will be missing a trick if fails to include Shaun Wright-Phillips in his England squad for this month's World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus. Wright-Phillips will be given another chance to stake a claim for a place in Capello's squad when City play host to Omonia Nicosia in the second leg of their Uefa Cup first-round tie this evening and Hughes is confident that the winger has done enough to warrant a call-up.

Despite scoring the winning goal after coming on as a substitute in Capello's first match in charge of England, a 2-1 friendly win against Switzerland at Wembley in February, Wright-Phillips, 26, has played no part in the Italian's subsequent squads. But after a disappointing three-year spell at Chelsea came to an end in August, the winger has rediscovered his best form, with three goals in five games.

Another goal or two this evening would be welcomed, as City defend a 2-1 lead, and could influence Capello's thinking before he names his England squad on Sunday evening. “I think Shaun should be in the squad,” Hughes said. “Since he's come back to City he's been playing with a smile on his face. He's one of those players who needs to have the feeling that he is wanted and he is going to play a big part in the fortunes of this club.

“If it is not to be this time, maybe because he has just started playing regularly again, it certainly will be in the new year, [[and]] if he maintains this form, I would imagine he will be one of the first to be picked by Capello.”

Hughes knows David Bentley, the Tottenham Hotspur winger, from the time they spent together at Blackburn Rovers and has been impressed by Theo Walcott, of Arsenal, but the City manager rates Wright-Phillips just as highly. “He's got more experience than those two and he's had experience of winning trophies at Chelsea,” Hughes said. “He has hit the ground running and I'm sure it will continue.”