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Terry will never captain my England again - Capello

Fabio Capello will not pick John Terry as England captain again © Getty Images

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Fabio Capello has categorically ruled out the possibility of John Terry returning as England captain during the Italian's reign.

Terry was stripped of the England armband by Capello following allegations that the Chelsea defender had betrayed the trust of team-mate Wayne Bridge by starting a relationship with the mother of his child. Capello confirmed on Tuesday that Rio Ferdinand will be his captain for the World Cup, with Steven Gerrard filling in for the friendly against Egypt on Wednesday.

Capello once famously performed a U-turn on David Beckham's career, reintroducing the midfielder as an integral cog of his Real Madrid team after previously suggesting Beckham had no future at El Santiago Bernabeu. Asked if Terry could redeem himself in a similar manner and prove himself worthy of a second chance in the future, Capello refused the suggestion outright.

"I think no," replied the Italian at Tuesday's press conference. "Next captain will be Rio and for tomorrow [against Egypt] the captain will be Steve Gerrard. My decision against David Beckham was a tactical decision. This is not a tactical decision.

"John knows he is no longer captain. I've told him in the dressing room he has to act and do the same thing like when he was captain."

As a consequence of the Terry fall-out, Bridge has made himself unavailable to England for the foreseeable future, but Capello confirmed the door remains open to the Manchester City man. Capello also had words of encouragement for Michael Owen, who scored in the Carling Cup final on Sunday, and Joe Cole.

"The door for a lot of England players is open always. Wayne Bridge can come back. Not only him, Owen, and plenty of other players.

"Joe Cole needs more time to play games. He is returning from injury, but he played well in his last game and he needs to play more games like that."

One player who is guaranteed to start Wednesday's friendly at Wembley is Wes Brown, who represents Capello's only option at right-back due to Glen Johnson's lack of fitness. However, the England coach would not shed light on his left-back dilemma, where the losses of Bridge and Ashley Cole leave Leighton Baines and Stephen Warnock fighting for a starting role.

"I have two choices," admitted Capello. "But for right-back only one."

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