Ferdinand out of England friendly

Ferdinand's recurring back problem has badly disrupted his season

England captain Rio Ferdinand will miss next week's international friendly against Egypt because of a back injury.

The Manchester United defender had already been ruled out of Sunday's Carling Cup final at Wembley against Aston Villa because of the same injury.

"He won't be fit for the England game - that is obvious," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Liverpool midfielder Steve Gerrard is now favourite to lead England against Egypt at Wembley next Wednesday.

Ferdinand, 31, replaced John Terry as England captain earlier this month, has a long-standing back complaint which kept him out for more than three months earlier this season.

But Ferguson insisted that there was no reason to think that Ferdinand's body could not cope with the demands of a busy club and international schedule.

606: DEBATE Who will miss Ferdinand most - Manchester United or England?

"I don't think we are at the stage where he should be concentrating on one part of his life in terms of international and domestic football," he said.

"That has never been any issue. I have never discussed it with him and I don't think he has ever thought about that himself."

Ferdinand had been due to play in Tuesday's Premier League game against West Ham after serving a four-match suspension, which followed his sending off against Hull City on 23 January - his first game after his three-month lay-off.

But the former West Ham defender felt a "twinge in his back" during training, according to Ferguson, and was left out of the side.

England's game against Egypt, the Africa Cup of Nations champions, is the final friendly before manager Fabio Capello names his provisional squad for this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa.

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