Rio Ferdinand again out of England squad as Ryan Shawcross gets call

• Ferdinand absent despite John Terry's international retirement
• Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll both return after injury

by Jacob Steinberg 7 months ago

Rio Ferdinand has been left out of the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland despite John Terry's retirement from international football. Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross has been selected as one of Roy Hodgson's four central defenders.

Ferdinand was overlooked for Euro 2012 for "footballing reasons" by Hodgson, therefore avoiding a potential clash with Terry. However with the Chelsea captain no longer available there had been speculation that the 33-year-old, who has not played for England in more than a year, would return.

Instead Shawcross has been preferred, and Gary Cahill, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka have retained their places.

After missing England's first two qualifiers – a win in Moldova and a home draw with Ukraine – Wayne Rooney has been recalled following injury, while the on-loan West Ham United striker Andy Carroll has also recovered from the hamstring problem that kept him out of the last squad.

There are three left-backs in the squad. Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs has replaced Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand but the battle for a place in the starting line-up will be between Leighton Baines and Ashley Cole.

In midfield, Aaron Lennon has earned a recall after an impressive run of form for Tottenham and despite having not played for England since the 2010 World Cup.

Birmingham City's Jack Butland has been released to the Under-21s for their European Championship play-off with Serbia, leading to Celtic's Fraser Forster becoming a rare England selection from the Scottish Premier League.

Goalkeepers: Forster, Hart, Ruddy

Defenders: Baines, Cahill, Cole, Gibbs, Jagielka, G Johnson, Lescott, Shawcross, Walker

Midfielders: Carrick, Cleverley, Gerrard, A Johnson, Lennon, Lampard, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott

Forwards: Carroll, Defoe, Rooney, Welbeck

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