From CHARLIE WYETT
ROY HODGSON admitted he is stunned that Rio Ferdinand refused to play for England.
The defender caused outrage by withdrawing from the squad on medical grounds — only to then jet off to Qatar to commentate on tonight’s World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
And Hodgson says he will now “wait and see” whether the Manchester United star ever plays for his country again.
The Three Lions chief said: “It may have been naive but I always believed that people who are selected are going to want to be there — and pleased to be selected and don’t need to be told in advance.
“Basically, there are occasions when I communicate with players I’m leaving out of the squad, especially if they’ve been in before and I’ve got to put someone fresh in.
“He was selected on merit and it would have been good to have him here because he’s been playing well.
“But it wasn’t possible due to the fact he had to go through his programme of regeneration and keeping up his fitness there.”
Centre-back Ferdinand, 34, who has 81 caps, opted to miss England’s crucial Group H clashes in San Marino and Montenegro, giving the reason he had to manage his fitness.
Asked about the player’s decision to fly on a 15-hour round trip to Doha to work as a pundit for Al Jazeera TV, diplomatic Hodgson said: “It’s not my business.
“I was disappointed, and I made this very clear, that Rio was not able to accept the invitation.
“He couldn’t accept it for the reasons you know. From that moment on, my focus was on who would replace him.
“It’s not my business, quite frankly. It’s not my business to interfere with an individual player and his club.
“I don’t think this is the right moment in time for me to be discussing Rio and what’s happened now and what will happen in the future.”
