Hodgson won't take Rio and Terry

[Lazie]

May 15, 2012

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By Harry Harris, Football Correspondent

New England boss Roy Hodgson spoke with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday and has decided that only one can go to Euro 2012, according to ESPN sources.

GettyImagesJohn Terry was stripped of the England captaincy



The expectation is that the Chelsea captain will miss out on the European Championships, but that remains unconfirmed until the squad is announced at 1pm on Wednesday.
The exact nature of Hodgson's conversations are to remain confidential, but it appears it would be too tricky to integrate both players for the duration of the tournament given the circumstances of Terry's impending court case involving Rio's brother Anton.
Terry has already been stripped of the England captaincy, and while the FA made it clear to Fabio Capello that Terry cannot wear the armband, the catalyst for the Italian's departure, it would not block the centre-half being in the squad.
ESPN has been told that Hodgson decided to leave the discussions with Terry and Ferdinand until the day before the squad announcement to assess every option at his disposal.
Hodgson has a problem at centre-half with Terry's natural deputy at club and international level, Gary Cahill, a big risk with a hamstring injury. Chelsea will likely gamble on his fitness in Saturday's Champions League final, leaving Hodgson with a nervy wait to discover if he can take the defender to Ukraine and Poland.
A seasoned campaigner in tournament football, Hodgson knows there is no substitute for experience, particularly players who have been to big tournaments before, and Ferdinand is set to provide a wise head despite concerns he cannot play in every game of the tournament due to fitness limitations.
England's most heralded names have, by their own admission, failed to perform on the big stage in the past, but Hodgson is of the mind to give them one last chance in this summer's finals.

[Lazie]

Tek Terry ... leff Rio mek him rest up fi next season.

[Paul Marin]

You got your wish...

Rio snubbed: Hodgson has decided not to take Ferdinand to Euros

New England boss all but ended the United defender's international career with Tuesday phone call PLUS Injury rules out Walker




Euro no-go: Ferdinand has been left out by new England boss HodgsonGetty

Rio Ferdinand has been sensationally axed from England’s Euro 2012 squad.
England boss Roy Hodgson all but ended Ferdinand’s international career when he rang him on Tuesday night to tell him he had been left out of the 23-man party which will be announced on Wednesday.
And it now seems likely that Chelsea captain John Terry WILL be selected despite his place being in doubt as he is awaiting trial on charges of racially abusing Ferdinand’s younger brother, Anton.
But there was devastating news for young Spurs defender Kyle Walker, who was ruled out of contention with a toe injury.

Foot fault: Toe injury rules Walker out of England squad
Ex-England captain Ferdinand, 33, who has won 81 caps, will be devastated at the blow even though he has been struggling with a back injury.
But it is still a huge statement by Hodgson and a sea change in his management as Ferdinand has been a vastly experienced and popular member of the squad.
Hodgson went to the Chelsea training ground on Tuesday and gave their four England players - Terry, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard - a separate training programme to work around their club duties ahead of Saturday's Champions League final.

Here comes the boss: Hodgson visited Terry and co at Chelsea HQ on TuesdayLaurence Griffiths

Hodgson’s new coach, Gary Neville, is believed to be keen on making Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 18, a surprise wild-card in the squad, even though he has not been a regular in the Premier League this season.
Hodgson has contacted some key players ahead of the squad announcement as Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Steven Gerrard - who is favourite to be named captain - have been sounded out.
The new manager also made a big change as he has scrapped next week’s planned training camp in Malaga, which was set up by former boss Fabio Capello.
Hodgson is likely to place five players on standby alongside his 23-man squad.
Those players will be available for the friendlies with Norway and Belgium prior to the tournament and could be pulled into the final 23.
Norwich’s uncapped keeper John Ruddy is favourite to be third choice after England goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence scouted him on Sunday.
Hodgson managed Gerrard during his disastrous spell at Liverpool but the pair parted on good terms.
Rooney has been assured he will be in despite his two-game ban, while Spurs striker Jermain Defoe has also made the cut.
Surprisingly, given the problems at right-back, there is no place for Micah Richards.

Idle Rich: Micah won't be playing in Euro 2012 despite Walker's absence
Up front, QPR’s Bobby Zamora is likely to edge out Peter Crouch and there could be a recall for Liverpool’s Andy Carroll.

Slap in the face: Crouch looks like losing out to Bobby ZamoraClive Brunskill/Getty

But Manchester