Ferdinand skips training for second day
Thursday, 04 Sep 2008 17:27
Rio Ferdinand sits out England training for second straight day
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been forced to sit out England training for a second consecutive day because of a stiff neck.
The 29-year-old was forced to watch from the sidelines as his team-mates were put through their paces on Thursday before they fly out to Barcelona for the opening World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday.
Ferdinand also sat out Wednesday's practice session for the same reason, although he has been confirmed on the flight to Spain and is still being considered for the starting XI against the minnows,
inthenews.co.uk sources suggest.
In addition to the centre-back,
Chelsea winger Joe Cole - who scored a last-minute, face-saving equaliser against Czech Republic at Wembley last month – skipped Thursday's training with a slight calf complaint.
However, he is expected to be fit to play against the Andorrans, alongside Blues club-mate Frank Lampard who seemed to be moving freely today despite reporting a dead leg earlier in the week.
Further injury worries over Chelsea defender Ashley Cole's knee and skipper John Terry's stomach bug were also allayed after both men featured in the final full day's training before flying to the continent.
England play Andorra at La Liga side Espanyol's Olympic Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday, before the squad move on to Zagreb where they will face Croatia - the side who effectively knocked them out of the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 last year.
Wednesday's match is being billed as the first genuine competitive test of Fabio Capello's reign as England manager since he succeeded Steve McClaren in January.