However, this might not be quite the cataclysmic event that some will portray it as.
Sure, Ferdinand represents the quicker half of England's centre-half partnership, but that's not really saying much. Over the last ten years, Ferdinand has probably been England's best defender. Over the last ten months, he has not.
Ledley King will surely step in to England's starting line-up, and based on their respective form over the season just gone, the Spurs man is unquestionably a better option.
Obviously there will be some who question King's fitness and perhaps rightly, but of the pair, Ferdinand is probably the bigger injury risk. You will probably hear the infuriatingly erroneous phrase 'injury-prone' in regards to King, when he is not.
An injury-prone player suffers an unpredictable series of injuries that have to be treated individually. Michael Owen is injury-prone. Darren Anderton was injury-prone. King is not. He has one problem (admittedly a very worrying one), that when managed correctly can be minimised significantly.
Indeed, it is a problem that seems to be managed increasingly well by England and Spurs. In days gone by, King playing twice in a week was unthinkable, but at the end of the Premier League season he managed three games in eight days, including Tottenham's crucial Champions League 'playoff' against Manchester City. It's not quite the seven in 29 days that England will have to play in order to win the World Cup, but it's getting there.
To compare, in the season just gone, Ferdinand made 12 league starts, and was a substitute once. King started 18 times, and came off the bench once.
Ferdinand's problems (although apparently not this one) stem from a back injury sustained 18 months ago, that has led to assorted residual problems that can flare-up with little warning. With that in mind, it is surely better for him to break down now when a replacement can be called-up, rather than in a World Cup game when one cannot.
Half of the issue with players not of the iron constitution of say, Wayne Rooney, is that their form is disrupted. If they play one game, then miss the next three games, they cannot be expected to perform in the same manner in the fifth.
Ferdinand suffers from that problem, but King does not. It's remarkable that King can run most of the time, but that he continues to be arguably the best English centre-half in the Premier League is a near-miracle.
It's not a perfect solution, but if King can stay fit - and of course, that is a whacking great 'if' - England's defence looks much more secure with him in it.
Nick Miller
Source: football365.com/
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