Steven Gerrard is set to claim the England captaincy from Rio Ferdinand on a permanent basis.
Ferdinand was forced to withdraw from England’s World Cup campaign in South Africa because of an ankle injury.
And that paved the way for Liverpool skipper Gerrard to lead his country.
Initially, England boss Fabio Capello insisted that Ferdinand would be restored to the role once he regained his fitness. But Ferdinand, who has been troubled by injuries and illness this season, is only just returning to club action with Manchester United.
In fact, Ferdinand has already lost the United captain’s armband to Nemanja Vidic.
And Gerrard has produced a couple of inspirational performances for England this season in back-to-back European Championship qualifying victories over Bulgaria and then Switzerland.
That has led Capello to confide in close friends that he will find it extremely difficult to justify relieving Gerrard of his duties, despite the potential return of Ferdinand for the game against Montenegro on Tuesday October 12.
Ferdinand’s confidence of being automatically restored to the role has not impressed Capello either, who believed players have to earn the right to wear the armband.
Ferdinand’s injury-ravaged days appeared to play a part in Ferguson’s decision to opt for Vidic as United skipper.
Ferguson said: “What we wanted was someone who was consistently available for us.
“Everyone recognizes Nemanja would always be there.
“He has been fit all season and you don’t leave him out of the team unless you are going to rest him.”
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