Hodgson hopes his Ferdinand gaffe won't push defender into retirement
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Your support makes all the difference.Roy Hodgson said yesterday that he hoped his disclosure to Tube train passengers on Wednesday that Rio Ferdinand had been left out of the England squad again would not cause the Manchester United defender to call time on his international career.
The England manager apologised to Ferdinand for telling passengers who spoke to him on Wednesday that the 33-year-old would not be in the squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland – which was passed on to newspapers. Hodgson said he would contact Ferdinand to apologise personally but denied saying that the defender's international career was over. Ferdinand sent a message last night accepting his apology, although the two have not spoken directly.
"To find out he's been excluded in that way, I'm disappointed with," said Hodgson. "I'll give him my sincere apologies. I respect the man and I respect the player. I am looking forward. "I'm trying to rejuvenate the squad. If Rio is still interested after what he might regard as an insult – it wasn't intended as such, and he may turn his back on us even if we don't on him – when I call him it would be directly to play in the team. Not just as part of the squad."
Hodgson announced yesterday that he had called up the uncapped Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross, who was in one of Fabio Capello's squads more than two years ago but did not feature in a friendly against Egypt. The Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster was brought into a senior England squad for the first time and there were recalls for Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs and the Tottenham Hotspur winger Aaron Lennon, .
Hodgson also said that Carl Jenkinson, who has played at right-back for Arsenal this season in the absence of Bacary Sagna, could be in line for a call-up for the friendly against Sweden on 14 November. "He's on our radar and someone we're keen to explore," he said.
The thinking behind the exclusion of Ferdinand, who will be 35 in the summer of 2014, remains Hodgson's resistance to taking players who will be in their mid to late 30s by the World Cup finals that summer and not first choice. Hodgson said that he believed the decision of Terry to retire from international football was "irrevocable". He said: "I regret his decision, of course. "
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