Concern for Capello after another Ferdinand injury

After being named as the new England captain and making his comeback from a long-term injury Rio Ferdinand has been sidelined once again.

The defender has suffered a recurrence of his back problem and will miss "a couple" of games, meaning he will be a spectator at Wembley when United take on Aston Villa in the Carling Cup final this weekend, and again on Wednesday when England play Egypt.

The fact that it is his back that has gone again will worry both his club boss Sir Alex Ferguson and international manager Fabio Capello, who will hand the captain's armband to Steven Gerrard.

"He had been training great with no mishaps at all, but you get these twinges and you cannot take a chance," said Ferguson. "He will not be ready [for the cup final] on Sunday. Unfortunately he will miss a couple of games."

The implication is that Ferdinand's back is prone to seize up unexpectedly, which does not bode well for his long-term career prospects. The England manager may now be minded to pick extra cover at centre-back during the World Cup as he knows that Ferdinand could drop out at any moment.

The news also leaves Fabio Capello's defensive plans in disarray. Ferdinand is out, the deposed captain John Terry appears to be suffering a lapse in form after the Vanessa Perroncel scandal, fellow Chelsea bad-boy Ashley Cole is out for at least two more months with a broken ankle and right-back Glen Johnson is only just starting his Liverpool comeback after injury.

Of his second-string defenders, Capello will have to tread carefully with Wayne Bridge after the Terry scandal while Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka are also only just returning to fitness after injury.

Capello is in South Africa where, despite some scaremongering in the press, he has confirmed that England will base themselves at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus during the World Cup. He dismissed fears that the centre would not be ready on time and said: "We checked everything and it improved a lot from the last time we stayed here."

With the scandals surrounding his ex-captain Terry and left-back Cole obviously playing on his mind, England's disciplinarian manager also hinted that he would be reading the riot act to the squad when they meet up ahead of the Egypt game.

Capello revealed that he was concerned by the press coverage of some of his stars' private lives. "The players have to understand what I want if you want to stay with me," he warned. ·