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very strange signals coming out of england camp .. seems capello still not sure on his starting 11 never mind final 23.. heard interview today were the 3 goalkeepers still have not been told who will be the number 1 for the world cup and they said they would probaly be told the day before first game !!! tough luck on bent as he lost out to heskey.. and strange decision to include warnock even though he never featured in any of the last 3 warm up games ??Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Can't believe Carrick is in ahead of Parker or Huddlestone.
Rio gone for a scan on his left knee.
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, who was part of Fabio Capello's initial 30-man squad, is the likely replacement, while Steven Gerrard will be promoted to the captaincy.
Capello said earlier: "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."
Ferdinand had an injury-hit season at Manchester United, being laid low for considerable periods with back and groin problems.
But he was happy with his fitness at the end of the season and during England's two-week training camp in Austria before coming through the friendly internationals with Mexico and Japan unscathed.
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 setback.
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.
Dawson was named in Capello's initial party of 30 for the finals but was excluded from the final 23 after not playing against either Mexico at Wembley or Japan in Graz.
He has had an outstanding season at Tottenham, often alongside King.
There's more important players that England could have lost really. He hasn't been fully fit in over a year really and when he has played he hasn't been the player he used to be. King is a good replacement, although whether his legs hold up is another thing. I can see him playing only 1 group match and saving him for the latter stages. Over the course of last season, Dawson has been a better player than Rio IMO so it's not a disaster tbh.
Better him than Rooney most fans will be thinking, he is replaceable.