• World Cup

Heskey reveals Ferdinand injury regret

Rio Ferdinand has called the incident which saw him ruled out of the World Cup a freak accident © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Gerrard warns reporters to drop questions about Liverpool
  
• News: Axed skipper Terry vows to lead England
  
• News: Capello blasts photographers, Milner still not training
  

Emile Heskey has revealed the regret he feels over his part in the incident which ruled England captain Rio Ferdinand out of the World Cup.

Ferdinand's dreams of leading England in South Africa were shattered after he damaged knee ligaments in training when Heskey fell on his left leg following a tackle. The Manchester United player has since described the injury as a freak accident but, despite the assurances, Heskey is still disappointed by his involvement in Ferdinand's injury.

"I spoke to Rio afterwards and he told me there was nothing I could do but it was still difficult for me," Heskey told the Sun. "What happened was that I tried to turn the ball round the corner and fell backwards onto him but his leg was in a position where he couldn't actually move it.

"There was nothing you could do. Knowing he is out of the World Cup was very difficult.

"He is our captain and has been a great player through the years for England and at club level. It was just one of those things."

Despite his record of seven goals in 58 appearances for England, Heskey is in contention for a starting berth in Fabio Capello's starting line-up against USA in Rustenburg and the Aston Villa striker is confident he can play his part in an England win.

"Forwards are judged on their goalscoring but I like to think I bring a lot more to the game and I do get pleasure from assisting," Heskey added. "I also get pleasure from being part of a winning side.

"I do sometimes think I could have done better in certain situations and got a goal myself but that is part and parcel of the game."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.