Thaindian News

London, Feb 6(ANI): England defender Rio Ferdinand has not been officially informed that he has been selected to succeed John Terry as the captain of the national squad.

Terry was dramatically stripped of the armband after a 12-minute meeting with manager Fabio Capello at Wembley on Friday.

Capello did not name Terry’s successor, but said he would promote the vice-captain, Ferdinand, and the designated “No 3″, Steven Gerrard, would step up to become deputy.

When asked about the matter, a Football Association insider said: “As far as Fabio is concerned, Rio is next in line and after that it’s Steven Gerrard. But he sees no need to make a huge deal about it.”

“He might not even talk to Rio about it until the squad meets up for the match against Egypt on March 3,” The Sun quoted the insider, as saying.

Terry has lost the job because of off-field troubles, yet Ferdinand is no stranger to controversies.

His England debut came as a sub against Cameroon in November 1997, but he would have played before, had he not been charged with drink-driving in the build-up to the 1998 World Cup qualifier against Moldova.

Later in 2003, he was banned for eight months for skipping a drugs test and missed Euro 2004 as a result. Ironically, Terry replaced him in the tournament.

The 31-year-old is plagued by back problems and has just returned after three months out. He is currently serving a four-game ban for violent conduct after whacking Hull’s Craig Fagan. (ANI)