Gerrard to retain England captaincy

Steven Gerrard is set to claim the England captaincy from Rio Ferdinand on a permanent basis.

Ferdinand was forced to withdraw from England's World Cup campaign in South Africa because of an ankle injury.

And that paved the way for Liverpool skipper Gerrard to lead his country.

Initially, England boss Fabio Capello insisted that Ferdinand would be ­restored to the role once he regained his fitness. But Ferdinand, who has been troubled by injuries and illness this season, is only just returning to ­club ­action with Manchester United.

In fact, Ferdinand has already lost the United captain's armband to ­Nemanja Vidic.

And Gerrard has ­produced a couple of ­inspirational performances for England this season in back-to-back European Championship qualifying victories over ­Bulgaria and then ­Switzerland.

That has led Capello to confide in close friends that he will find it ­extremely difficult to ­justify relieving Gerrard of his duties, despite the potential return of ­Ferdinand for the game against Montenegro on Tuesday October 12.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.