England's World Cup plans have been thrown into chaos with Rio
Ferdinand ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.
Ferdinand was taken to hospital in South Africa for a scan after
sustaining an injury to his left knee during the final moments of
Friday's training session in Rustenburg.
He left hospital on crutches and has since returned to England's
training headquarters.
Sportsmail understands Ferdinand will be sidelined for at least
three weeks, ending any hopes of playing in the finals.
Tottenham defender Michael Dawson is on his way to South Africa
having been called up as an emergency standby.
Ruled out: Rio Ferdinand leaves hospital on
crutches
The huge blow comes just eight days before England's World Cup
campaign kicks off against the United States.
Ledley King and Jamie Carragher will both now fancy their
chances of a place in England's defence for their World Cup opener
on June 12.
Put through his paces: Rio Ferdinand taking part in
England's first training session in South Africa
Capello earlier told reporters: 'The bad news is in the last
moment of the training, Rio suffered a problem with the knee.
'He has just gone to hospital for a scan. We hope it will not be
so bad an injury but we have Michael Dawson on call.
'It came from a minor tackle during the training. How bad is it?
We will have to wait and see.
Worry for England: Ferdinand is having a scan on
his injured knee
Vice-captain Steven Gerrard will now wear the captain's armband
in South Africa.
Ferdinand had been optimistic of enjoying an injury-free World
Cup after a season dogged by problems at Manchester United.
He made just 21 appearances for his club this season, starting
only 13 Premier League games, in a season disrupted by a back
injury.
Reasons to be concerned: Ferdinand was dogged by
injury problems last season with Manchester United
However he had trained with no setbacks during England's
two-week camp in Austria, and also came through the friendly
internationals with Mexico and Japan unscathed.
Goalkeeper David James also missed training on Friday but
Capello admitted to being much less concerned with that situation,
insisting the 39-year-old had 'only a slight knee problem'.
Training: Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry with the
rest of the England squad in Rustenburg on Friday
England play their first World Cup match next weekend against
the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.
They then face Algeria and Slovenia in their next two group
games, on June 18 and June23.
