Rio Ferdinand withdraws from England squad for World Cup qualifiers
The farcical situation leaves the England manager with a serious lack of options in central defence for two World Cup qualifiers, against San Marino and Montenegro. It also raises embarrassing questions about why he failed to contact Ferdinand to discuss his specialised fitness regime before last Thursday's squad announcement, theguardian.co.uk reported.
After days of conjecture in the wake of Ferdinand's return to the England fold for the first time under Hodgson, during which Sir Alex Ferguson had questioned whether his fitness could stand up to a recall at such short notice, the 34-year-old explained his decision to withdraw in a face-to-face meeting on Sunday night.
The exchange was said to be amicable, despite the ill-feeling created by Hodgson's decision to leave Ferdinand out of his Euro 2012 squad, with the Manchester United player explaining that his "intricate" training and medical programme made it impossible for him to join up.
"I'm disappointed Rio will not be available but due to the detailed pre-planned training and medical programme he must follow it's not possible," said Hodgson. "However, I was pleased that Rio called and asked to meet with me. It was important to hear from him personally about the way he must manage his body between games."
Despite Ferguson once insisting that Ferdinand could not play two games within four days, and Hodgson agreeing to rest him against San Marino so he could concentrate on the more challenging match against Montenegro, the England manager insisted the player remained capable of playing back-to-back games.
"This is not to say he cannot play back-to-back games - he can and has proven so. He's out this time due to particular pre-planned details already in place for his programme," said Hodgson, who promoted Tottenham Hotspur's Steven Caulker from the Under-21s to take his place. "I must place on record how I was impressed with his commitment to playing for England and I look forward to hopefully selecting him for squads in the future."
Ferdinand, who has 81 caps, said he was "gutted" at having to withdraw but said it was the "right decision". He is expected to spend the international break following his pre-planned regime, including liaising with specialists in London and Milton Keynes.
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