LONDON - Former England captain John Terry will not be brought of of international retirement to play at this year's World Cup finals in Brazil, manager Roy Hodgson said on Wednesday.
Terry voluntarily ended his England career in September 2012 but, following successive home defeats by Chile and Germany in November last year and Terry's excellent form for Chelsea, there have been calls for Hodgson to recall him to the national side, led by former England captains Gary Lineker and Ray Wilkins.
But Hodgson told reporters at Wembley: “John has retired. As far as I'm concerned, that is the situation. We've got along without him for the whole of the qualification and quite a few friendly matches, and we'll have to get along without him in the future. As far as I'm concerned, retirement is retirement.”
The 33-year-old Terry won the first of his 78 caps in June 2003 and succeeded David Beckham as England's captain in 2006. He lost the captaincy for the first time in February 2010 after allegations about his private life and regained it a year later.
The FA then took the armband away from him before the 2012 European Championship - prompting England manager Fabio Capello to resign - because Terry was facing a court case over alleged racial abuse of the Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand.
Terry was found not guilty but was still charged separately by the FA, and retired from international football in protest. The FA's independent commission found him guilty, banning him for four matches with a fine of 220,000 pounds (362,000 dollars).
England play Denmark in a warm-up at Wembley on March 5 in the last match before Hodgson names his squad for the World Cup, where they meet Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D.
Peru will also visit Wembley on May 30 before England fly to Miami to face Ecuador on June 4 and Honduras on June 7 in warm-up matches, both in the Miami Dolphins' Sunlife Stadium, before heading to their World Cup base in Rio de Janeiro.
Reuters