Sir Alex Ferguson has not ruled out the prospect of Gary Neville forcing his way into the England World Cup squad.
The veteran Manchester United defender has enjoyed an excellent season, confounding the critics who claimed that, after two years almost totally wrecked by injury, his days at the top level were numbered.
Neville, 35, is yet to decide whether to join fellow stalwarts Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in committing himself to another season at United, but Ferguson does not envisage a problem.
And the United boss has also raised the possibility of Capello squeezing him into his 23-man squad for South Africa.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he went to South Africa," said Ferguson. "It is not my job to say he should go, it is difficult enough for an international manager, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fabio chose him.
"There is no dialogue here yet but I am pretty sure Gary will be here next year."
Although he was initially sidelined by a broken ankle sustained in a tackle with Gary Speed in March 2007, it was a series of muscular problems which kept Neville out for an entire year.
He ended up making just a single nine-minute substitute appearance in a Champions League encounter with Roma in the 2007/08 season, and only chalked up 27 last term.
Even Ferguson doubted whether Neville would recover but the full-back has shown admirable fortitude and more than held his own against Manchester City flyer Craig Bellamy at Eastlands last week.
"Gary is unbelievable," Ferguson added. "He is an amazing man. When you are in your 30s and been out of the game for a year and a half it is impossible for most players to come back to the level he is at now.
"He used his experience to the full last Saturday. Craig Bellamy is a handful but Gary will have studied every little bit of him. That is what he does and he had him under control."
Ferguson did not expect to be calling on Neville quite as much as he has. At one stage last season the United boss claimed the defender's body would not stand up to more than one game a week.
However, Neville has been a regular over the last couple of months and could well be involved tomorrow when United entertain Tottenham looking for the victory that would enable them to return to the Premier League summit.
"It has surprised me how many games Gary has played recently," Ferguson added. "After we brought him back against Everton away we looked after every game at what his recovery should be.
"We looked at what he was like and how he felt and whether we should bring Rafael back in.
"But every time he was up for it. He trained every day and never missed a session so you go with the flow."
Discussion about Neville's future is quite timely given fellow 'Class of 92' member Nicky Butt is considering whether to head into a coaching role. David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Butt, Giggs and Scholes emerged from the same youth system and became submerged in an avalanche of trophies.
History will judge their arrival to be a quirk of nature, with even Ferguson accepting there is a special ingredient that has turned Neville, Scholes and Giggs into such successful individuals.
"We are special that way," said Ferguson. "The fact they are local boys helps. When you see the way the Premier League is now in terms of foreign players, for us to have three stay with us for an entire career is unique."
