Rio to Rio?

There’s been words from Roy Hodgson, Rio Ferdinand himself and a mixed reaction to the Manchester United man’s withdrawal from the England squad to face Montenegro and San Marino for “intricate pre-planned programme”, by English fans and media. It is possibly the moment that could signal the end for Ferdinand regarding a future with England, but instant re-assurance from manager Roy Hodgson that Rio does have a future may not be as clear cut as it seems.

“I must place on record how I was impressed with his commitment to playing for England and I look forward to hopefully selecting him for squads in the future,” Hodgson said. In a statement made by Rio Ferdinand, he had this to add:  “It was important for me to be able to speak with Roy face to face and explain the situation, and one thing I made clear was that my passion and commitment to represent my country is as strong as ever.”

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Rio Ferdinand’s loss from the initial team leaves a massive gap of maturity, experience and talent to replace for the games against Montenegro and San Marino. But that is just it. It is only Montenegro and San Marino, a team that have not scored a competitive goal in 21 games (via @PowerTableSports). Rio’s expertise will be missed, but it is against a team that in all probability won’t put up a challenge at all. Significantly, the last time Ferdinand played for England was back in 2011, almost 2 years ago. So looking back at it from that point of view, there is nothing to miss. Only for England to gain, given Ferdinand’s exceptional form for club this season.

There’s no denying that Fabio Capello enjoyed a strained relationship with Rio Ferdinand, which many feared was the end of his international career. It was not long ago that Roy Hodgson decided not to take Rio to Euro 2012 for ‘footballing reasons’, along with the fact that John Terry, who at the time was yet to appear in court for racially abusing Rio’s brother Anton, re-assured any few hopefuls that it the end was neigh for Ferdinand.

But controlled measures of fitness by the medical staff and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United has been the key factor in Ferdinand’s magnificent form for what looks for United a title-winning season, one where Rio Ferdinand has arguably been one of the most important figures in another season of triumph for Sir Alex.

Where Manchester United concern, the career of Rio Ferdinand is for the known future safe. For England, knowing that this Rio Ferdinand isn’t physically able to play 2 matches in the space of 5 days could be a problem, especially for Brazil 2014. The careful monitoring of Ferdinand’s fitness by the Manchester United team could well spell the end for his career for the national team. The “intricate, pre-planned fitness programme” this time being a major mind for thought for Roy Hodgson.

@Welbecked