El Tel: Man Utd's Ferdinand in danger of losing England position

Former England boss Terry Venables feels that Rio Ferdinand is in major danger of losing his spot in the national team.

The Manchester United defender seems to be continually injured and in his absence, the likes of Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have started to shine through.

Venables, writing in his column for The Sun, says that perhaps it is Ferdinand who should be more worried about his position rather than Chelsea veteran Frank Lampard whose future in the England team has been questioned recently.

'Much has been made of Frank Lampard's England future but it is Rio Ferdinand's Three Lions career that appears to be under greater threat,' he wrote.

'Having lost the captain's armband, the Manchester United defender is now in real danger of losing his place in the team.

'Ferdinand was left out of the squad for Friday's 3-0 win in Bulgaria and Tuesday night's clash against Wales after hurting his hamstring in United's opening-day win at West Brom.

'It is not the first time he has been ruled out of Fabio Capello's squad through injury.

'But it is the first time I have wondered whether he will actually get back in the side when he is fit.

'Whenever Ferdinand was sidelined in the past, his return to the team was guaranteed.

'But this may no longer be the case.

'The emergence of Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling and, even more importantly, Phil Jones have put the 32-year-old's place in serious jeopardy.'

For all the latest football news go to <a href="http://www.tribalfootball.com">tribalfootball.com</a>.