Ferdinand out of the World Cup - Dawson called up

England captain Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the World Cup finals after sustaining a knee injury in training on Friday. The Manchester United defender was taken to a local hospital for medical tests after sustaining the knock and left the establishment on crutches. National team coach Fabio Capello was coy over Ferdinand's chances of making the Group C opener against USA on Saturday June 12 in his daily press conference but this was before the results of the scan and the outcome has since determined the extent of the problem. With the experienced 31-year-old now out of the picture, the captain's armband will be handed to Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard while Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson will step into the 23-man squad in Ferdinand's place after he was placed on standby when the news broke. Dawson, who excelled during Spurs' fourth-placed Premier League finish last term, was initially cut from Capello's initial 30-man squad but has earned an instant recall.

Source: DSG