Gary Cahill, England Defender, Ruled Out Of Euro 2012 As Martin Kelly Is Called Up

Cahill Out And Kelly In For England While Rio Tweets His Fury

England's decimated European Championship squad has suffered another blow with news Gary Cahill has been ruled out of the tournament, while Rio Ferdinand has tweeted his fury at being overlooked in favour of Martin Kelly to replace him.

The Chelsea defender collided into Joe Hart following a nasty shove from Dries Mertens during Saturday's 1-0 win over Belgium at Wembley, and a scan has confirmed a double fracture of the jaw.

Cahill, 26, joins John Ruddy, Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard as the fourth withdrawal from manager Roy Hodgson's initial 23-man squad in the space of a fortnight.

Liverpool's Kelly has been called up to replace the Champions League winner, as Ferdinand continues to be dubiously overlooked by Hodgson.

Hodgson cited "footballing reasons" for Ferdinand's exclusion and that the Manchester United defender had played just once in 12 months for the national side.

An irate Ferdinand however swiftly tweeted "What reasons?????!!!" after it was announced Kelly had been called up ahead of him and the Manchester City right-back Micah Richards. Richards however refused to be put on standby, so upset was he at being overlooked initially.

New Three Lions captain Steven Gerrard had played only 33 minutes in 19 months for England prior to last week's 1-0 win over Norway, and Ferdinand's rejection appears to stem from his fractured relationship with the selected John Terry.

Terry will go on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 9 July over allegedly racially abusing Ferdinand's brother Anton during a Premier League match in October 2011.

Despite Terry attempting to contact the brothers, the olive branch has not been accepted. And yet it is the 33-year-old Manchester United man who has appeared to pay the price by missing another European Championship.

Joleon Lescott will almost certainly be Terry's partner at the Ukraine and Poland championship, having excelled for Manchester City during their title-winning campaign.

Kelly, 22, won his first cap against the Norwegians in Oslo eight days ago, and is the sixth Liverpool player in former Reds manager Hodgson's squad.

Liverpool finished eighth under Kenny Dalglish during a dismal Premier League campaign which saw them lose 15 times and win just five matches at home.

Close

What's Hot