Rooney in but Rio out for England

Rio Ferdinand is out of England’s friendly with Serbia and Montenegro on Tuesday and the Euro 2004 qualifier with Slovakia on June 11.

The Manchester United defender has been troubled by a knee injury for the last couple of months and aggravated the problem during England’s 2-1 win over South Africa in Durban last week.

However, there was better news for national coach Sven-Goran Eriksson when Everton’s medical staff announced they were happy for Wayne Rooney to join up with the England party after the teenage striker recovered from a knee ligament injury.

After an examination by the United medical team at Carrington today it was decided that Ferdinand will undergo surgery, ruling him out of England’s forthcoming fixtures.

Eriksson said: “We are very disappointed to lose Rio Ferdinand but this is obviously the right decision for medical reasons.

“I would like to emphasise the excellent cooperation between Manchester United and ourselves over this issue.”

Eriksson will not be calling anyone into his squad as replacement.