Arsenal winger Theo Walcott thought Fabio Capello's call to inform him he was out of England's World Cup squad was a prank.

The Daily Express says Walcott was on the golf course working on his handicap when his mobile trilled and Capello said he would not be taking him to South Africa.

That Walcott's first instinct was to check he had not just fallen victim to a practical joke illustrates just how he had not seen this shock coming.

"This is a bigger shock than when he was picked to go to Germany in the first place," said a source close to Walcott last night.