Hodgson ponders Ferdinand future
England manager Roy Hodgson has said he will "wait and see" if Rio Ferdinand has an international future, following the player's decision to miss the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.
Manchester United defender Ferdinand opted to miss the games in order to manage his fitness when Hodgson wanted to bring him back into the England fold. It has since emerged that Ferdinand will travel to Doha, where he will work as a TV pundit on both England games.
At his last press conference before Friday's game with San Marino, Hodgson said: "I think we should just wait and see (if Ferdinand has an international future), I think it's more a question of how his injury situation will impact upon him playing for England, so we'll have to wait and see what happens in the future."
He added: "At the moment it's speculation about a longer-term future whereas my focus is on these next two games, which are important for us in our bid to qualify. I am happy with the squad we've got."
Ferdinand had been due to return as an England player for the first time since missing out on Euro 2012. Hodgson deflected questions on what he thought of Ferdinand's decision to miss the two games.
He said: "I don't have any serious thoughts on it. I was disappointed when he couldn't accept our invitation. It would have been nice to have him here."
Hodgson also refused to comment on Ferdinand's decision to go to Doha, adding: "As we all know he wasn't able to accept the invitation so what he actually does now and how he operates in the coming couple of weeks, that's his business and the club's business.
"You're asking me questions that I really don't want to go into."
Hodgson preferred to concentrate on the players who would be representing England, and he said: "It really shows a lack of respect to some extent for the players who are here.
"In this instance Rio made it clear that he wasn't able to accept my invitation on this occasion and we will see what happens in the future. What happens during this period of time when he's looking after himself, it's up to us to look after ourselves and do the job we've got to do in these next two matches."
