Rio Ferdinand to captain England against Montenegro

Fabio Capello has confirmed that Rio Ferdinand will captain England for Montenegro’s visit to Wembley tomorrow night.

The 32-year-old Manchester United defender has been absent from the international scene since suffering a knee injury during the build-up to the World Cup in South Africa.

Ahead of Monday’s announcement it had been speculated that Steven Gerrard, who was handed the captain’s armband in Ferdinand’s absence, might have permanently replaced the United defender as skipper.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be captain or not – I was more concerned about being in the squad and being fit,” said Ferdinand.

“It’s a great honour to be named England captain and it’s great to be playing again.

“To come back now and be named captain is fantastic but Steven has done a fantastic job, especially in both European Championship qualifying games – we’ve won both games quite convincingly.”

And Ferdinand believes England should be wary of the threat posed by Montenegro.

“I knew they would be one of stand-out teams in the group,” he said.

“It will be a hard game and we’ve got to make sure we bring our ‘A’ game to make sure we put it to bed because they’ve started very well in the group.”