Captain Rio Ferdinand claims he is over his recent spate of injuries and should be capable of leading England (6/1 to win World Cup) when they head to South Africa next month.

The 31-year-old made only 24 appearances for club and country this season having been troubled by back and leg problems throughout the campaign.

There had been suggestions England coach Fabio Capello could leave Ferdinand at home should he fail to prove his fitness before the end of the domestic campaign.

However, the Italian has backtracked on his previous promise of only taking fit players to South Africa and has now stated that some players were too important to leave behind.

Ferdinand appears to fall into that bracket having been in and out of the Manchester United side as the season came to a conclusion.

The former Leeds and West Ham defender has said he went to see a back specialist two weeks ago to discover whether he would be hampered by the long-standing problem when he went away on England (13/5 to be the Top European team) duty.

Ferdinand now believes his injury problems are behind him and is looking forward to leading his country for the first time at an international tournament.

“It has been a frustrating time but you’ve got to get on with it,” said the Three Lions skipper.

“Hopefully now I’m coming out the back end of it and, fingers crossed, I will not get any more injuries.”

Capello’s 30-man squad will head to a training camp in Austria in four days time to begin their preparations for the World Cup before they face Mexico and Japan in two pre-tournament friendly matches.

England then play their first group match against the USA (5/1 to beat England – 90 minutes market) on June 12 and Ferdinand says it will be a dream to come true to lead his nation out at a World Cup.

“It’s every kid’s dream (to be captain). It’s an incredible honour and I think it will only sink in when the time comes.”

Ferdinand’s statement comes a day after an injury scare involving his central defensive partner John Terry, reports emerging on Wednesday the Chelsea star had broken a metatarsal in training.

However, the 29-year-old has undergone a scan which gave him the all clear and is now back training with the Blues ahead of their FA Cup final against Portsmouth on Saturday.

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