TV broke news of England captaincy – Ferdinand

England manager Fabio Capello has visited Manchester United's Carrington training complex to discuss the state of Ferdinand's troublesome back complaint with both the player and Sir Alex Ferguson, yet the captaincy issue can apparently wait.

"I haven't spoken to the manager yet," Ferdinand said.

Ferdinand was installed as John Terry's successor last month, following the allegations about the Chelsea defender's life away from football.

Ferdinand claimed: "I found out I was captain from the TV."

The interview emerged less than 12 hours after Capello admitted discussions had taken place over the back injury which has returned to rule Ferdinand out of last night's England's friendly against Egypt.

Capello said: "I met Rio and spoke with Sir Alex and I know exactly what happened.

"I also spoke with (chief executive) David Gill at Wembley, who told me it is not the same problem.

"I don't know. I just hope he will be fit in a short time because he needs to play.

"You can only find good form when you play games."

Ferdinand has now featured in only four of England's last 13 games.

That statistic must concern Capello given Ashley Cole is also out of action with a broken ankle, Wayne Bridge has declared himself unavailable and Terry seems to be below par.

Ferdinand admits he will be "very disappointed" if he never plays in a major tournament final for his country.

"You don't play just to get a cap or to be there. You play to win and to achieve something, and if I was to finish my career with England and not even to have got to a final, I'd be very disappointed," he said.

"The whole circus that followed the England squad last time at the World Cup was a joke, and I wouldn't like to see that again. It's a distraction and is detrimental to our chances," added the former Leeds United defender.