Rio Ferdinand left out of the England squad
Posted Monday, August 29, 2011 by thesun.co.uk
DOUBTS ... Capello won't risk Rio
Rio Ferdinand has been left out of England's squad for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales.
Fabio Capello is not convinced of Rio's fitness even though he was on the Manchester United bench against Arsenal yesterday after getting over a hamstring problem.
England boss Capello would have been within his rights to give name Ferdinand but instead, avoided a confrontation with United chief Alex Ferguson.
Had Ferdinand started against Arsenal, he would still have missed the two international matches. England play Bulgaria in Sofia on Friday and host Wales tomorrow week.
Capello gave Rio a glimpse into the future by handing new United star Phil Jones his first international call-up.
Jones, who starred against Arsenal, was part of the squad for the postponed friendly against Holland.
United team-mates Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney are also included.
United's contingent would have been greater had Danny Welbeck not suffered a hamstring injury after scoring the opener against Arsenal in yesterday's 8-2 thrashing. Welbeck's failure to make the squad was good news for Tottenham's Jermain Defoe who was brought into the fold.
But it was bad news for Spurs hitman Peter Crouch, whose England future looks in doubt as he missed out.
Despite being critical of Capello's management style, Arsenal winger Theo Walcott earned a recall.
Incredibly, Joe Hart is the only goalkeeper in the squad playing in the Premier League.
West Ham's Rob Green is Hart's deputy while third choice is David Stockdale, on loan from Fulham at Ipswich.
Scott Parker is also included, despite being at West Ham, although the midfielder is set for a move to Spurs.
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