Bridge urged to think again about England

Fabio Capello remains hopeful that Wayne Bridge will make himself available for England’s World Cup campaign, despite the Manchester City left-back’s decision to quit international football over John Terry’s affair with his ex-girlfriend.

Bridge announced on Thursday that he would not be available for selection for next week’s friendly against African champions Egypt and described his position in the squad alongside Terry as “untenable and potentially divisive.”

His decision further reduces Capello’s options on the left side of his back four with first-choice Ashley Cole having recently suffered a broken ankle which means he cannot be certain of being fully match fit in time for England’s World Cup opener against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12.

With Cole and Bridge both missing, Capello will, barring injuries, name Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock, who has just six minutes of international experience, and uncapped Everton defender Leighton Baines in the squad to face Egypt at Wembley.

But he appears to believe that he can secure a change of heart by Bridge, who has a child with Vanessa Perroncel, the model with whom Terry is alleged to have had an extra-marital affair.

“It surprised me, but I respect the decision of all the players,” Capello said of Bridge’s decision. “The door is always open for him. We have time, there is still three months until I will decide my final squad for South Africa. I hope that Wayne Bridge will be with us at the World Cup.”

Capello reacted to the lurid headlines surrounding Terry’s off-the-pitch conduct by stripping him of the England captaincy last month and had appeared to believe that Bridge would continue to play for his country despite his differences with his former Chelsea team-mate.

England’s Italian coach is also facing a problem in the centre of his defence with doubts growing over whether Rio Ferdinand will be able to withstand the physical demands of playing every three or four days at the finals in South Africa.

Ferdinand will miss the Egypt match with a recurrence of a back injury that has already forced him to sit out three months of this season.

There was some good news for Capello on Friday however with Bolton manager Owen Coyle revealing that Gary Cahill, a candidate for the role of understudy to Terry and Ferdinand in the England squad, should be back in action far sooner than expected.

Cahill appeared to have been ruled out of the World Cup when a blood clot was discovered in his arm earlier this month.

But a specialist has identified the cause of the clot as a piece of rib which was interfering with the blood flow to the affected vein and addressed the problem with surgery, leading Coyle to believe the centreback could be back playing by the end of March.

“We are delighted that he is going to be back and available, one for Gary, two as a boost for the football club and me as a manager, and three, I would suggest, for the country,” Coyle said.

“I have no doubt that if he gets back to the level he is capable of — without putting too much pressure on him — then I think he will be a real candidate for the World Cup.”