Jermain Defoe has backed his England team-mate Ledley King to play in the World Cup next year despite Fabio Capello sending out an SOS to another defender, Gary Cahill.

The Bolton player was called up in preference to King as cover for John Terry and Wes Brown, both of whom have minor injuries.

But with Rio Ferdinand also missing, there is every chance that Cahill, who has been in the squad before but remains uncapped, will be needed in Saturday's friendly with Slovenia and the qualifier against Croatia at Wembley next Wednesday.

Should England beat the Croats, Capello's men will be heading for the World Cup and Defoe is in no doubt whom he would like to see on the plane to South Africa.

He said: "You want your best players in a major tournament and Ledley is certainly one of those.

"He still has the desire to play for England. If he got a call I know he would be delighted. When he is out on the pitch, his presence alone makes a huge difference."

King has not played for England since the game in Estonia in June 2007 and when he was released barely a day after being called up for the matches against Slovenia and the Ukraine last March, Capello did say he was not completely ruling him out of his plans.

Yet the 28-year-old's long-standing knee injury, which prevents him from being able to train properly, does seem to have counted against him given Cahill has been called up instead, just as he was for the trip to Kazakhstan in June.

There can be no other explanation because, as Defoe points out, his Spurs team-mate is still one of the most accomplished defenders around.

It is difficult to imagine a perfectionist like Capello placing his faith in King when the defender cannot practise any set pieces or defensive drills as he continues his solo work in the gym and swimming pool. "I don't know how he does it," Defoe added. "Everyone at Spurs understands Ledley cannot train because his knees will swell up. Harry Redknapp is used to it now and can understand how he uses the physios every day.

"Ledley is a quiet lad but he loves his football and sometimes you look at him and know he is so frustrated. He wants to train but he just can't do it."

Defoe has been in outstanding form for Tottenham and also scored both England goals in Amsterdam last month.

Yet he expressed irritation today that whenever his name is mentioned about inclusion in possible England squads, it is always closely followed by that of Michael Owen.

"It does [bother me], yes, a little bit," he said. "It's like if my name gets mentioned, Michael Owen's has got to get mentioned as well. That is sometimes frustrating.

"Michael is a great player but it is not that if I'm in the squad, he's not, or that if he is in the squad, I'm not. It would be nice to get away from it."