Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he is delighted that Rio Ferdinand was left out of the England squad.
The 33-year old centre-half did not make Roy Hodgson's 25-man group for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland with Ferguson welcoming the decision as it allows the player to concentrate on club football.
"I am not going into that but I am happy anyway because I think at his age he should be protecting himself as best he can," he said.
"Hopefully by doing that he will be far more important to me than England."
