Fabio Capello will make Rio Ferdinand wait for another 24 hours before announcing whether the Manchester United defender has won his battle to succeed John Terry as England captain. After a six-month audition that has eliminated Steven Gerrard and David Beckham from the equation, the England manager has narrowed the captaincy field to the two central defenders, but he does not plan to end the suspense until a team meeting tomorrow before friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday.

Capello’s squad gathered last night at the team hotel in Hertfordshire and will attend a meeting this morning, with the manager spelling out his expectations for the forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign, before a light session at Arsenal’s training ground at London Colney. He plans to announce the captain tomorrow, with Ferdinand the favourite, having impressed the Italian with the way he performed in the role in the friendly against France in Paris in March. However, Terry, who was captain under Steve McClaren, subsequently pressed his claims in the end-of-season friendly against the United States.

Emile Heskey is expected to return to the starting lineup against the Czech Republic alongside Wayne Rooney, filling the gap left by Dean Ashton, the West Ham United forward, who has suffered another injury. Ashton, who followed Capello’s instruction to lose weight over the summer, scored twice against Wigan in front of the England manager on Saturday, but a calf problem has ruled him out of the squad. Heskey, in the visiting team’s attack, was an obvious alternative, with Capello overlooking Peter Crouch.

Another player to be forced out of the squad was Michael Carrick, who faces at least a two-week lay-off after suffering an ankle injury early in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United yesterday. Franco Baldini, Capello’s assistant, was at Old Trafford with a brief to watch Carrick, but the midfield player lasted only 25 minutes. Jermaine Jenas, of Tottenham Hotspur, is his replacement.

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