Manchester United

The 31-year-old has been named as skipper for England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on Tuesday night.

It’s the first time the former Leeds United defender has been in the England squad since he picked up an injury before the start of the World Cup in South Africa.

Ferdinand was injured during the first England training session in Rustenburg where he sustained knee ligament damage after a collision with team-mate Emile Heskey.

The central defender missed out on the tournament where the Three Lions failed to live up to expectations, going out to old rivals Germany in the knockout stages.

Ferdinand is delighted to have been named as England captain once again, though, after Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard took over the role in his absence.

He said: “It is a great honour to be named England captain.

“It is great to be back playing again.

“Obviously, I’ve been out for a while since the World Cup when I injured my knee.

“I have worked hard on my rehab, worked hard on the training ground at Manchester United, and the staff have been fantastic for me to get to this point,” he added.

Ferdinand has recently returned to action for United (16/5 to win the Premier League) as he looks to rebuild a strong partnership at the back with fellow central defender Nemanja Vidic.

The former West Ham United academy player is happy to be back playing after the disappointment of missing out on leading out his country at a major international tournament.

He said: “It has been well documented that the first 48 hours after I got injured at the World Cup were probably my worst moments in terms of over-analysing and really thinking about the consequences.

“To miss the World Cup was a real big disaster for me.

“But you have to wipe yourself down and get on with it.”

Ferdinand will be looking to earn England another three points against Montenegro as they hope to continue their strong start the Euro qualifiers.

The Three Lions skipper will then be aiming to help United close the gap on rivals Chelsea who currently sit five points above them at the top of the Premier League table.

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