Rio out of opening England qualifier

Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of England’s opening Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra with a bruised toe.

The Manchester United defender has not been able to train with his international team-mates this week, although manager Steve McClaren is hopeful the 27-year-old will be available for the second qualifying match against Macedonia on Wednesday.

“We don’t expect him to train, he is continuing his rehab, he’s back running. In this situation with a bruised toe in the beginning there is a lot of pain and then they heal rapidly within two or three days. So we’re hoping he gets over it and will be available for Wednesday,” McClaren told a press conference televised live by Sky Sports News.

“There are opportunities for Michael Dawson and Wes Brown to step into that role and we’ve got every confidence in them to do that.”