Terry To Hand Captaincy To Ferdinand This Time?

There’s been plenty of ‘ummm-ing’ and ‘ahhh-ing’ over the last few days, but despite Scolari’s initial reassurance that John Terry would again push himself through the pain barrier to play for his country on Saturday, there looks about as much chance of that now as Chelsea supporters asking for Avram Grant’s reinstatement.

The England captain has sat out training this week with his recurrent back problem and having missed another session yesterday, looks just about certain to miss the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at Wembley. After what should be a formality against Kazakhstan this weekend, England face Belarus next Wednesday although whether Terry will make it back for that one also remains to be seen.

Rio Ferdinand will take over the captain’s role in Terry’s absence and is likely to be partnered by Manchester United team-mate Wes Brown.