Darren Bent could have been a long-jumper rather than a footballer, but the leap he has made from Tottenham bench-warmer to probable England starter is greater than anything he managed as a teenage athlete.

Bent, who has won three caps, is a strong candidate to be included in Fabio Capello's starting XI for tomorrow's friendly against Germany in Berlin after being rewarded for seven goals in his last seven games with a return to the international scene.

If Bent, a junior track and field star who once jumped almost seven metres, scores his first international goal at the German capital's Olympiastadion, it will be an incredible change in fortunes for a player who had almost given up on his England career as he struggled under former Spurs boss Juande Ramos.

With Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov all leaving Tottenham in 2008, Spurs fans were sceptical about Bent's ability to lead the attack. To make matters worse, Ramos claimed the 24-year-old and the club's £14million signing Roman Pavlyuchenko were too similar to play in the same team.

There were also strong indications that Bent would be sold in the January transfer window, but Harry Redknapp's arrival in place of Ramos brought about the transformation in Bent.

He managed two goals in Redknapp's first three matches, despite beginning all of them on the bench, and scored a hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb in his first start for the new manager.

The two goals that followed in the 2-1 win at Manchester City on 9 November were enough to persuade Capello to hand Bent a recall and the striker admitted his international prospects had been non-existent under Ramos.

Bent said: "England was a distant thought for me. I wasn't getting games, so I knew I wasn't going to be playing for England. I got in a lot of squads when I was at Charlton, even though I didn't get on the pitch as much as I would have liked. I have always had faith that I could get in the squad if given a run of games at club level.

"If you are playing well for your club, and scoring goals for your club, I have always been a firm believer that you should be picked for England."

The absence of Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey due to injury means Bent is more likely to get a chance than he would otherwise have been, but the situation is double-edged.

Defoe, Peter Crouch and Gabriel Agbonlahor will all be vying with Bent to catch Capello's eye tomorrow, while Bent could also face competition in the future from Andrew Johnson, who is beginning to find his best form for Fulham. Capello has been reluctant to pick Michael Owen, but if he begins to play regularly and hit the target for Newcastle, the Italian will find it difficult to leave out England's only proven goalscorer in tournament football.

With nine senior players absent, tomorrow's friendly has been widely derided, with Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill labelling it "pointless". But for a man like Bent, who is desperate to establish himself as an international footballer, the pressure could not be higher.

Bent's last England outing was in the 3-2 defeat by Croatia at Wembley on 21 November last year, which ensured Steve McClaren's side would fail to qualify for Euro 2008, and that the hapless coach was sacked.

He played just 10 minutes as a substitute but missed a late chance to score the equaliser which would have taken England through, so his desire to get it right for his country is greater than usual.

Bent acknowledged: "Wayne Rooney has been fantastic for Manchester United and England, and it seems as though we are all fighting for one place alongside him.

"Hopefully I can stake a claim against Germany, get a goal or two, and move on from there. I have spoken to Fabio Capello quite a lot since I have linked up with the squad.

"He has told me what he thinks of me as player and what he expects from me. I have responded to that. As long as I know what direction I am going in, it should be fine.

"He told me to play my own game and not to over-complicate things, which is what Harry Redknapp has done at Spurs. He has kept it simple.

"Harry has seen me for a number of years and he knows where I am at my best. He encouraged me to express myself and play as I usually do, whereas Juande Ramos tried to over-complicate things sometimes."

In Berlin's Olympic arena, then, the stage is set for budding athlete Bent to meet Capello's gold standard and become an England regular.