Roy Hodgson hesitant on Rio Ferdinand's England future

Media caption,

Hodgson tight-lipped on Ferdinand

England manager Roy Hodgson says he will "wait and see" whether he calls Rio Ferdinand into his squad again.

Hodgson said he was "disappointed" the Manchester United defender withdrew from the squad for the World Cup games against San Marino and Montenegro.

"It's more a question of how his injury situation will impact on him playing for England," said Hodgson, when asked about Ferdinand's future.

"Let's wait and see. I'm not really interested in players who aren't here."

Ferdinand has been plagued by injuries over the past few years and said a "pre-planned programme" was his reason for pulling out.

The 34-year-old, who has 81 caps, has travelled to Qatar, external to work as a television pundit for England's game against San Marino.

"I've flown out for some pre-planned downtime... with a bit of punditry thrown in for a game I would have watched anyway," the centre-back said on Thursday.

Hodgson responded to a question about Ferdinand's decision by stating he didn't "have any serious thoughts" on the matter.

"I was disappointed when he couldn't join up with us because I picked him as one of our four defenders," added the England boss.

"What he does now and how he operates in the coming couple of weeks is his business and the club's business.

Ferdinand last played for England in June 2011 against Switzerland, missing selection for Euro 2012. Hodgson said he had left the defender out of the squad for "footballing reasons".

But the player was given a route back into the set-up last week when he was named in the squad to face San Marino and Montenegro.

Hodgson will now choose between Manchester City's Joleon Lescott, Manchester United's Chris Smalling, Tottenham's Steven Caulker and Newcastle's Steven Taylor as to who lines up in the centre of defence.

"I just look at the players that are here in the squad and worry about them," added England captain Steven Gerrard.

"It would have been nice for Rio to be here, but he's not and we move on without him."

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