England manager Roy Hodgson has apologised to Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand regarding his decision to again omit him from the national team.
On his way to Arsenal's Champions League clash with Olympiakos last night, Hodgson let it slip on a tube train in London that Ferdinand's time in the Three Lions setup had come to an end.
The news broke in a few newspapers and online ahead of today's squad announcement for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland and Hodgson admits he feels bad about how Ferdinand's omission came to light.
"I'm very disappointed that the story has come out like that and I'll apologise to Rio because there's no way I would ever indicate that I wasn't going to use a player in that way," Hodgson told the Football Association's official website.
"But the thing is that I didn't choose him in the squad this time and it's really just for the same reasons as before.
"We have other players, but I'm certainly not suggesting that it's the end of the line for him.
"I would never dream of telling a player that it's the end of the line or end of the road, or whatever I'm supposed to have said.
"That's up to every player to decide for himself and hopefully that won't be the case.
"When I speak to Rio I will make it clear to him that I haven't selected him in this squad but who knows whether I will select him in the next one or not."
