Capello to blood more fresh faces as Walcott goes home

On the day when he should have been lining up against Germany in what the locals call Der Klassiker of international football, Theo Walcott finds himself in front of the shoulder specialist once again.

The 19-year-old who has done more than any other player to launch Fabio Capello's regime is on the sidelines, injured and frustrated, when he should be part of England's new generation.

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Walcott belongs in games such as tonight, he is a precious English talent – who has made his mark on the world stage to the extent that the Germans describe their own flying winger Marko Marin as "the German Theo Walcott". Unfortunately the English Walcott had his involvement in the game ended last night when he crumpled to his knees by the touchline of an empty Olympic Stadium. As the extent of his dislocated shoulder injury became apparent, the stretcher was called for and England's medical staff kept Walcott warm by laying spare coats over him.

It is a sad way for Walcott to bow out for 10 weeks and hard on Arsène Wenger too. For all the big names who have been withdrawn by Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool over the last four days, trust Wenger's luck that the one player who gets a bad injury during the international break itself is Walcott. The sad truth, however, is that Walcott's right shoulder was a problem waiting to happen. If it was not to be last night at about 9pm Berlin time then it would have been some time soon.

Walcott's left shoulder was fixed with an operation in March 2007, now it looks likely that his right will have to undergo the same procedure. For Capello it means that he is deprived of the chance to see how England fare with Walcott on one wing and Ashley Young on the opposite side. It leaves him with arguably just three remaining players from what would be his first-choice XI. Fundamentally, it makes this friendly even further from a genuine test of the England manager's resources than it was 24 hours earlier.

At 19, Walcott's progress has been rapid and, like all prodigies, the pace of their development means that occasionally the endurance of their body lags behind. To his credit, it is understood that Walcott tried to stay on the pitch last night after the initial challenge with Scott Parker that caused the injury, but eventually his shoulder went again and he had no choice but to withdraw.

It will come as no consolation to the player himself but he has not picked the worst possible time to have his shoulder problem corrected. Arsenal should be set fair for their progress into the knockout stages of the Champions League, by which time Walcott will be fit again. As for their Premier League progress, it is a moot point as to whether a fit Walcott would make any difference to Arsenal's dwindling title challenge. As for England 2010 World Cup qualification – that does not begin again until Ukraine on 1 April.

Walcott would have played an integral part in the vanguard of young players that Capello had earlier promised to give a chance to against Germany tonight. The kid from Arsenal does not need to prove himself on this stage any longer, the three goals against Croatia did that, but it would have been fascinating to see him alongside Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Michael Mancienne – all of whom Capello mentioned in his occasionally tense press conference in Berlin yesterday.

Walcott's surprise inclusion against Andorra in September showed Capello's appetite for abandoning the conservative aspect and throwing in young players when he felt they were ready. Given how many players are missing tonight, and there are at least 10 senior players out, Capello has little chance but to give the kids a chance. He even hinted yesterday that there could be a surprise debut for Mancienne.

"I think Agbonlahor is a very interesting player," Capello said. "He's young. Mancienne is young as well. Ashley Young also. He [Young] played in Trinidad & Tobago in the second half and it is very good to know these players. To see them play another game, like [Stewart] Downing, is important."

No matter what Capello might say – and he says he wants to win every game – this match tonight had been rendered an irrelevance by the sheer volume of withdrawals even before Walcott injured his shoulder. It is to be hoped that Capello is generous with his caps tonight.

For players like Agbonlahor and Young, chances such as these will not come around often. The England manager has also demonstrated a determination to convene his experienced, first-choice players whenever possible, suggesting that opportunities for new faces will be few up to 2010. Make the most of tonight, he will tell his young players, because a good performance against Germany can launch an England career.

Unfortunately for Walcott he must watch from home: the consolation is that the world already knows what he can do. Better for him that his shoulder pops out on a cold November evening the night before a friendly that counts for nothing rather than in the frenetic build-up to the 2010 World Cup finals. And if Walcott comes back that little bit stronger, he might even be able to regard last night, in a funny sort of way, as a blessing.