IT was one of the big ‘Will he or won’t he’ discussions that dominated the final stages of the selection process for England’s World Cup campaign.

Would Callum Wilson’s superb goalscoring form in the first three months of the season be sufficient to earn him a call-up for Qatar? Or would the Newcastle United striker’s questionable injury record, allied to a lack of recent international experience, mean he missed out on a place on the plane?

In the end, form trumped fitness concerns, and while the likes of Ivan Toney, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tammy Abraham were all omitted from the squad, Wilson was selected as Gareth Southgate’s main back-up option to Harry Kane.

As a result, having waited more than three years since winning his last of his four international caps in a Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria, the 30-year-old is set to make his fifth England appearance on the biggest stage of all.

“We think Callum’s in a really rich vein of form,” said Southgate, after Wilson’s World Cup selection was confirmed. “With only a few days between the final (Premier League) game and the first (World Cup) match, form could be very important.”

Wilson scored three goals in his final three appearances before England’s squad was confirmed, with Southgate watching last month’s two-goal salvo against Aston Villa from the St James’ Park stands, but while the striker’s World Cup place might only have been cemented in the last few weeks, his selection for Qatar is the culmination of a journey that has lasted more than a decade.

Having started his career as a trainee with Coventry City, and had brief non-league spells with Kettering and Tamworth, Wilson’s fortunes were transformed by the £3m that took him to Bournemouth in 2014.

Spending most of his time on the south coast working under Eddie Howe, Wilson scored 61 goals in 171 goals for the Cherries, with his goalscoring exploits helping secure promotion to the Premier League.

An international debut arrived in 2018, with Wilson scoring on his maiden appearance against the United States, but there were also much darker days.

Two cruciate knee ligament injuries in the space of 18 months threatened to scupper his career, and even after he moved to Newcastle in September 2020, injury issues continued to blight his progress.

When he has been fit for the Magpies, however, he has averaged almost a goal every other game in the Premier League, with this season’s strikes against the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham more than convincing Howe that Newcastle’s number nine will not be found wanting if he is called into action in Qatar.

“I would back Callum in any situation,” said the Magpies head coach. “If he entered the pitch, he would be able to score the goals England need. That’s always been in his DNA, the goalscoring ability. He is going to want to contribute, for sure.

“He doesn’t want to go there just in name. He wants to contribute. Gareth must feel he has the ability to do that, or he wouldn’t have picked him. He will give everything to do that. He can deliver. He has got everything, and is at the peak of his powers.

“My history with Callum, my length of time with him, I’ve seen the disappointing moments he’s had and I’ve also seen the highs and seen him grow into a Premier League player from a lower-league player.

“I’ve seen him score hat-tricks in the Premier League, and I know how desperate he was to go to the World Cup. I’m just so pleased for him that it’s happening.”