WIDESPREAD REPORTS IN the media this morning are claiming that England manager Roy Hodgson will leave Rio Ferdinand out of his Euro 2012 squad.
The recently-appointed boss announces his 23-man panel at a press conference this afternoon and it is believed that the former West Brom chief contacted the unlucky few to inform them of their omission.
Relations between centre-half pairing Ferdinand and John Terry have been poor since the Chelsea defender allegedly racially abused Rio’s brother Anton during a Premier League fixture with QPR in October.
And now it looks like the 33-year-old Manchester United player, who has suffered with recurrent back and calf injuries over the last three years, will be sacrificed in order to ease tensions in the camp.
The Daily Mail are reporting that Ferdinand confirmed that he was set to miss out, replying “Yes, it’s true” when asked about the snub.
Also understood to be staying at home are Stoke City striker Peter Crouch and Micah Richards, a Premier League title-winner with Manchester City last weekend. With Tottenham’s Kyle Walker ruled out with a broken toe and Chris Smalling also injured, Glen Johnson and Phil Jones are favourites for the right full-back role.
Andy Carroll, meanwhile, could be in line for inclusion. The Liverpool forward was at a Westlife concert last night but didn’t receive a call, according to The Guardian.
The announcement will take place at 1pm today.
