The club ruled Gerrard out of Wednesday's friendly against Germany but, with Capello's squad in ruins following several high-profile withdrawals, the England manager overruled Liverpool. Capello has lost Rio Ferdianand and Wayne Rooney for the game in Berlin and has decided to have his own medical staff examine Gerrard before he decides today whether to keep him or release him.
The Liverpool captain, whose club is saying he has an adductor muscle injury, was controversially pulled out of the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia in September when the club scheduled a groin operation for him that week. Capello now appears unwilling to take Rafael Benitez's word on Gerrard's fitness.
He felt he had to make a stand as the Germany friendly threatened to descend into farce as he lost four players and potentially John Terry to injury over the weekend.
Earlier yesterday, Liverpool pre-empted the FA by announcing Gerrard was unavailable for the Germany game, with their spokesman, Ian Cotton, saying: "Steven picked up an injury in yesterday's game at Bolton. A scan this morning has confirmed a tear in the adductor magnus muscle in his right leg, and he is expected to be out between seven to 10 days."
However, at 8pm the FA announced that Gerrard had been called into the squad and he spent last night at England's headquarters, the Grove Hotel outside Watford.
This is the first time that Capello has exercised his right as England manager to have his own medical staff examine a player whose club claim is injured. The withdrawals of Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves, in particular, for his first two World Cup qualifiers, were a real blow to Capello but with this latest move he has demonstrated that he is no pushover despite the game only being a friendly. The England manager said yesterday that he would "experiment" against Germany and with the players that have pulled out he has little option.
Terry, who injured his foot against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, has told Capello he will do everything he can to be fit for the game. The England captain, who has missed their last two games, had a scan yesterday which proved inconclusive and the foot is still sore. Jermaine Jenas is also understood to have been unavailable through injury and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart also pulled out of the squad after hurting a foot in yesterday's game against Hull.
Emile Heskey is already out with a groin injury. David Beckham is regarded as unavailable for selection because he is not playing club football, the American Major League Soccer season having ended. Michael Owen is so far down the pecking order that despite scoring against Wigan at the weekend he has again not been selected. Joe Cole and Ashley Cole are both absent because of injury. David Bentley has been overlooked in favour of some new names.
A cursory attempt to predict Capello's team for Germany demonstrates that if Terry is not fit Matthew Upson will be the senior centre-half alongside Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and Michael Mancienne, the surprise name in the squad.
Chelsea's 20-year-old defender, who has never played for his club's senior team and is on loan at Wolverhampton, was selected ahead of Jonathan Woodgate who is fit and available.
Mancienne is highly rated and played in the same successful England Under-17 team as Theo Walcott.
A Chelsea academy player, he is the only one in the squad who can claim his father played against Pele in an international, albeit for his native Seychelles.
As well as Mancienne, Capello has called up the uncapped Aston Villa players Gabriel Agbonlahor and Curtis Davies. Both have been named in England squads before and Agbonlahor should have the best chance of getting his first cap. Also in the squad from Villa is Ashley Young who will compete for the left-sided position in midfield with Stewart Downing.
Capello said: "Germany are always a strong team, and when they play at home even more so. Everyone has told me that it is not a friendly game against Germany, but I think this will be a friendly game. We will do some experiments and afterwards I will know better some different players."