Lampard: I don’t know if Ferdinand will play for England again

Frank Lampard admits he is unsure if Rio Ferdinand will play for England again following the Manchester United defender’s withdrawal from the squad this week.

Roy Hodgson had included the centre half in his side for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro after leaving him out of his Euro 2012 squad last summer.

But the 34-year-old defender pulled out of the squad on Monday out due to training arrangements he must follow to deal with a long-standing back problem.

And Lampard does not know if Ferdinand will ever win his 82nd England cap.

“I really don’t know if he will put on an England shirt again,” said Lampard.

“We came through West Ham together, but that was 15 years ago. I don’t know enough about his situation to comment on his future.

“I believe in the squad and the players we’ve got in there. Sometimes little things like this make the squad focus even more.”