Rio Ferdinand focused on Man United and not England recall

Rio Ferdinand insists his focus for next season is helping Manchester United win back the Premier League – and not breaking back into the England set-up.

The 33-year-old was controversially omitted from Roy Hodgson’s England squad for Euro 2012, with the Three Lions manager opting to bring John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jones and Martin Kelly as his centre-half options.

Despite this summer’s disappointment, Ferdinand maintains that the Red Devils remain his priority and he is not concerned whether his form for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side results in an England recall.

“To be honest, I’m not thinking about playing international football,” Ferdinand told United’s website.

“Manchester United is at the forefront of my mind. It’s my club and this is what I love doing. If anything else comes of it then so be it.

“But I don’t think about anything except for playing for Manchester United and, hopefully, winning back the league.”

Ferdinand, who has made 398 appearances for United, has won the Premier League five times and the Champions League once since completing a £34m move from Leeds United in 2002.

Despite Ferdinand’s injury woes in recent seasons, the former West Ham United defender made 38 appearances in all competitions last term – and he is targeting a similar figure in the forthcoming campaign.

“It’s been well documented I had injuries over the last few seasons,” he added.

“But I think last season I played about 35 games for United [he played 38]. I felt I managed myself really well in terms of my back injury, with thanks to the physios and sports science team at United. They helped me through that as well.

“Long may that continue. Hopefully this season I can continue to play a similar amount of games. That would be great.”