West Ham star Ashton eyes his long-awaited England debut

It is almost two years since Ashton suffered a badly broken ankle on the eve of what would have been his first full international cap in a friendly against Greece, in Steve McClaren's first game as national team manager.

McClaren called him back into the squad when he finally regained his fitness for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia last October but then a medial ligament tear ruled the centre forward out for another six weeks.

This time the call comes from Fabio Capello and Michael Owen's absence means another chance looms for Ashton in this week's friendlies against the USA and Trinidad and Tobago.

West Ham executives will meet the player's representatives tomorrow for the second round of talks to extend a contract which expires next year. The Ashton camp believes he should be among the highest paid players at Upton Park, something which would catapult him into the £65,000-a-week and above category, and England recognition can only strengthen that argument.

The Hammers, however, are determined to cut their spending this summer and are reluctant to fuel another round of inflation at the club.

The West Ham striker is only 24 but it is easy to be sucked into the trap of what might have been. This time two years ago he seemed to be on an unstoppable upward curve. Ashton is an imposing centre forward from the old mould, with great presence and aerial power but when he is on song, there is also a hint of Teddy Sheringham about him - perceptive, with a subtle touch and good appreciation of team-mates.

He helped the Hammers to within seconds of an FA Cup Final shock against Liverpool. And Ashton is entitled to wonder with hindsight why he did not feature in Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad in 2006.

McClaren can also look back with some regret, having managed England during a time when strikers were in short supply. So can Alan Pardew, who was fired from Upton Park four months after Ashton broke his ankle. What seemed like an innocuous challenge by Shaun Wright-Phillips in an England training session had a serious impact on his ankle. Soon into the recovery process, it became clear that the initial prediction of a six-month lay-off had been far too optimistic.

The range of pressures and mobility in the ankle made it harder to overcome than a similar break further up the shin. As West Ham adopted the brace position for relegation and the Carlos Tevez legal battle, Ashton knuckled down to continue his recovery.

When he regained fitness to score in a pre-season friendly against Roma last summer, Ashton confessed there had been 'dark days'.

"I was struggling through, not able to walk and, when I came back to training, I wasn't the best," he said. "I've seen a different side to football and I'll never ever take it for granted again."

The birth of his son Ethan at the end of August was one of the things which helped him through.

"I was depressed and low and wasn't enjoying myself," said Ashton. "But, at the same time, things at home were good and there are a lot worse things going on than my injury.

"I was positive but it's very hard when you're on your own training, working hard long days."

Since his return from the knee problem in December, Ashton has been injury-free but doubts have hung in the air, mainly because West Ham boss Alan Curbishley regularly left him out.

Curbishley's occasional preference for Carlton Cole suggested the more muscular, post-injury Ashton no longer possessed the mobility to play alone up front, although his game ought to be ideally suited to such a role.

This is the reason Capello is attracted to Ashton. The England manager likes a system with a centre forward supported from the flanks by two flyers and a creative mind in the central hole. Surrounded by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard, or assisted by the raw pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, Ashton's talents should thrive.

The West Ham striker can be England's pivot. This is why he will eventually win an England cap. This is why he is praying for a week free from disaster.