Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will captain England when they take on Italy in an international friendly in Bern on Wednesday.
Three Lions boss Roy Hodgson was forced to omit Lampard from his Euro2012 squad earlier this month after the veteran sustained a thigh injury but he is now fit enough for action, prompting the manager to hand him the captain's armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard who has been rested.
"We missed him during the Euros. If you have players of Frank Lampard's quality, it is a great pity if they are injured," Hodgson said.
"We had the same situation with Gareth Barry so we lost two very important members of our central midfield just before we travelled to Poland.
"But at least now Frank is back, and now we have the added bonus that Michael Carrick, who was not available for the Euros because we were told not to consider him, luckily he has reconsidered and I have got yet another quality player."
