Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the World Cup after injuring his left knee in training. The England captain broke down after a tackle in the final few minutes of his team’s first training session since landing in South Africa, and was taken to hospital for a scan.
The results of the scan are believed to indicate knee ligament damage and the 31-year-old will take no further part in the World Cup.
Michael Dawson is the likely replacement, while Steven Gerrard will be promoted to the captaincy.
Capello said about the incident: “In the last moment of the training, Rio suffered a problem with the knee. “He has gone to hospital for a scan. We hope it will not be so bad an injury but we have Michael Dawson on call.
“It came from a minor tackle during the training. It happened in a normal tackle. “It is his left knee. How bad is it? We will have to wait and see.”
Capello’s alternatives in the current squad are West Ham’s Matthew Upson and Tottenham’s Ledley King.
Upson has started nine of the last 17 internationals while King has forced his way into Capello’s thinking despite his long-term knee problem. King has impressed for Tottenham this season although by his own admission he looked far from convincing in the recent friendly with Mexico at Wembley.
