KEVIN Davies has urged England boss Fabio Capello to give Gary Cahill a chance to prove his worth.

After sitting out his last four appearances in the national squad without making a debut, Cahill has travelled to Qatar, hoping to make it a fifth time lucky in this afternoon’s prestige friendly against Brazil.

And he may never have a better chance, with Rio Ferdinand left behind in England to continue his rehabilitation and skipper John Terry a doubt with an ankle injury, which has threatened his chances of playing in Doha.

Cahill will now slug it out with Matthew Upson and Joleon Lescott for a starting place.

And while a place on the bench against Slovenia in September is the best the young defender has to show from his time in the international fold so far, Davies believes it is only a matter of time before Capello gives him an opportunity to further his burgeoning reputation.

“I know he’s frustrated with the England thing and wants to prove he can get in there and do a job,” he said. “I think he can do that job, he will just have to bide his time a little bit because he’s one for the future. He’ll be hard for us to keep hold of somewhere down the line.”

Cahill’s normally unwavering confidence took a dent on Saturday, as he struggled in a 5-1 defeat against his old club Aston Villa.

Davies is sure, however, that the experience will be only a temporary blip, and has backed his team-mate to continue the improvement that has seen him become one of the country’s most highly regarded young defenders since arriving at the Reebok.

“When he came to Bolton he was still young and learning but in the last 18 months he has worked really hard at his game,” Davies said. “He is a natural talent but he works hard in the gym. A lot of young players don’t do so much to improve their game but he is always in early, doing the right things.

“Playing against him in training it’s hard to get him off the ball and he’s good going forward as well. He’ll get us a few goals. I didn’t know too much about him when he got here but for us last season he was one of the most consistent performers.

“He rarely makes mistakes and he’s a good lad to have around.”