Boss Lee Carsley hailed Harvey Elliott after handing him an instant England Under-21 recall.
The Liverpool star is in the squad ahead of the Euro 2023 qualifiers against Andorra and Albania this month.
Elliott is yet to feature for the Young Lions having pulled out of his first squad last September before dislocating his ankle playing for Liverpool at Leeds just days later.
The attacker, 18, has made five appearances, scoring once, since returning in February to earn praise from Carsley.
He said: “I’m excited to have Harvey back, he is someone we have rated for some time. He has shown a lot of character coming back from the injury, staying fit and breaking into the Liverpool team.
“Harvey is really talented, he has overcome a lot for such a young age: moving clubs, breaking into the Liverpool team, getting a serous injury and coming back.
“He has played 180 minutes so we have to make sure we are careful with him. We have a responsibility to protect these players. I’m looking forward to seeing Harvey playing some part in the games and he is an outstanding player.”
West Ham defender Ben Johnson and Nottingham Forest full-back Djed Spence, on loan from Middlesbrough, have also been handed their maiden calls along with Hull forward Keane Lewis-Potter.
“I like Ben’s mentality, I like that he can play in various positions. I spent a morning with David Moyes, watched them train and had a good chat about Ben and the flexibility of him being able to fit in one of those centre-back positions,” said Carsley.
“I went to West Ham v Brighton and it shocked me a little how big it is in terms of expectation, the fact he is coping with that is a real plus for us.
“Djed had been outstanding at Forest. I have been to watch Forest a lot watching James Garner and come away thinking I really like Djed Spence.”
Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey and PSV’s Noni Madueke are also back in the squad after recovering from their injury problems but there is no place for Norwich’s injured Max Aarons.
In-form Everton winger Anthony Gordon, who scored twice on his debut against the Czech Republic in November, is again included.
Carsley has lost captain Marc Guehi after the Crystal Palace defender was promoted to the seniors along with midfielder Conor Gallagher.
England Under-21 squad: Bursik (Stoke), Green (St Etienne), Rushworth (Brighton, on loan at Walsall); Buchanan (Derby), Creswell (Leeds), Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City, on loan at Stoke), Samuels-Colwill (Chelsea, on loan at Huddersfield), Livramento (Southampton), Thomas (Leicester), Lamptey (Brighton), Johnson (West Ham), Spence (Middlesbrough, on loan at Nottingham Forest); Doyle (Manchester City, on loan at Cardiff), Garner (Manchester United, on loan at Nottingham Forest), Gibbs-White (Wolves, on loan at Sheffield United), Ramsey (Aston Villa), Jones (Liverpool), Elliott (Liverpool); Balogun (Arsenal, on loan at Middlesbrough), Gordon (Everton), Gomes (Lille), Madueke (PSV), Lewis-Potter (Hull).
