Rio Ferdinand makes comeback as Fabio Capello frets over his defence

Posted Thursday, September 02, 2010 by theguardian.com

Rio Ferdinand makes comeback as Fabio Capello frets over his defence
England's Phil Jagielka is very doubtful for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria.

There was good news for England and Manchester United tonight after Rio Ferdinand played in his first match since suffering the knee injury that wrecked his World Cup.

Ferdinand managed 45 minutes for Manchester United's reserves against Oldham Athletic, almost three months since damaging knee ligaments in an accidental collision with his England team-mate Emile Heskey in training. The defender hopes to be involved when Sir Alex Ferguson's team play at Everton on 11 September, their first game after the international break.

Anderson, the Brazilian midfielder likewise recovering from a knee injury, was also involved in the Manchester Senior Cup tie, with Wes Brown joined in defence by his younger brother Reece.

England have missed their central defender, never more so than this week as Fabio Capello faces having to choose a new defensive pairing. England appear resigned to being without Phil Jagielka for Friday's opening Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria but retain some hope that the Everton centre-half, who has yet to train since linking up with the squad, will be fit for Tuesday's fixture in Switzerland.

Jagielka has been hampered by a badly swollen ankle sustained in his club's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday and he missed the squad's training session at London Colney today. There is a possibility that he could play a limited part in tomorrow's session at Wembley, yet the fact that he remains with the England set-up at their Hertfordshire base indicates that the management team believe he could participate in Basle on Tuesday night.

In his absence Capello is contemplating playing Michael Dawson, whose only cap was gained against Hungary last month, and the recalled Matthew Upson at centre-half for the first time together given the injuries that have ruled out Rio Ferdinand and John Terry. The only viable alternatives are Bolton Wanderers's uncapped Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott, although he has been playing at left-back for Manchester City this season.

The Italian lost one of his quintet of strikers for both qualifiers today when Peter Crouch returned to Tottenham Hotspur for treatment on a back complaint. Capello is expected to play Wayne Rooney up front against Bulgaria flanked by Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott in a 4-3-3 formation, most likely with the captain Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry and James Milner across the middle, with the Football Association opting against calling up a replacement for Crouch for the fixture. Ben Foster and Scott Carson, who had been suffering from minor knee and back injuries respectively, are expected to be fit.

The FA has been encouraged by ticket demand in the build-up to the national side's first competitive fixture since the side's toils in South Africa over the summer, with sales nearing 65,000 and a crowd in excess of the 72,024 who attended the friendly against Hungary in mid-August expected for England's first Friday night qualifier at the revamped Wembley.

Any lingering hopes that Mikel Arteta retained of representing England in the future were dashed for good tonight after it emerged that Article 18.1(a) of Fifa's statute outlines that any player who has represented his country in an official competition, at whatever level, would at that time need to have held a passport for the country he later wished to play for to be permitted to make the switch.

The Everton player, who has recently indicated an enthusiasm to play for England now that he technically qualifies for British citizenship, played for Spain in the Under-16 European Championships and a Fifa World Championship at Under-17 level but did not hold a British passport at that time. Indeed he has yet to apply for one.