Theo Walcott axed from England squad as Fabio Capello prepares to reveal his chosen 23

Theo Walcott will be a shock omission when Fabio Capello names his 23-man squad for the World Cup this afternoon, Sportsmail understands.

Ledley King is also thought to have been left out in favour of his Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Michael Dawson.

The England manager has been phoning the unlucky seven who will miss out on the tournament in South Africa before confirming his party this afternoon.



And our sources say Arsenal winger Walcott will be a surprise casualty despite turning out against Mexico and Japan in the two warm-up matches for the tournament.
Sunderland striker Darren Bent is also expected to miss out, while reports are circulating that Manchester City's Adam Johnson is also to be disappointed.

Despite not playing in the warm-up games, Stephen Warnock is understood to have been selected ahead of Leighton Baines as the deputy for first choice left back Ashley Cole.
Everton defender Baines had an awful game during the 3-1 win against Mexico at Wembley and also didn't help his claim by admitting homesickness could be a problem this summer.
The omission of Johnson as well as Walcott would indicate that Chelsea contract rebel Joe Cole, Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips and Tottenham Hotspur's Aaron Lennon are set to be included.

Capello is also understood to have been encouraged by the latest medical update on Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry, who was assessed this morning.
Barry is unlikely to be able to train fully until after England's opening Group C match against the United States, but damage to his ankle ligaments is showing improvement and he will almost certainly be taken as the preferred holding midfielder.
Walcott will no doubt be devastated by Capello's decision as he finds himself in the opposite position of four years ago.

The former Southampton starlet was the surprise inclusion in Sven Goran Eriksson's squad for Germany 2006, despite being a 17-year-old on the fringes of the Arsenal team.
He proceeded to watch the whole of the last World Cup from the bench, but only last week spoke of how he felt part of this year's group on merit.
'It's nice to get the chance to play and to deserve to play,' said Walcott in the build-up to Sunday's 2-1 win against Japan.

'I didn't deserve to play or to be in the squad at all in 2006. I'd not played in the Premier League and it's just not heard of.'

Walcott blossomed in the qualifying campaign and peaked with a hat trick in the 4-1 win at Croatia back in September 2008.