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Capello to rest United and Chelsea stars

29/05/2008

England coach Fabio Capello has confirmed he will rest seven Chelsea and Manchester United players this week.

The Italian has said all the players who competed in last week's Champions League final will not be required to travel to Trinidad and Tobago for this Sunday's friendly.

Capello had previously said he, rather than the players, would decide whether certain individuals were required on the trip to the Caribbean.

And despite claiming the time together would be important for team building and working closely with some of the more senior players, the former Real Madrid manager appears to have chosen to appease two of the Premier League's top clubs by giving their players a break instead.

Last summer, former manager Steve McClaren courted controversy by apparently failing to stamp his authority on the team when a host of stars pulled out of both the senior and under-21 squads, citing niggling injuries and fatigue.

Blackburn Rovers winger David Bentley was the most high-profile of the absentees as he announced his withdrawal from the junior squad on the eve of the 2007 European Under-21 Championships.

However, the latest spate of players being rested from international duty has been greeted with less derision, in the main because Capello has made it clear from the start that the decision would be his rather than the players'.

"Seven players will stay here," he told Sky Sports News.

"The Chelsea and Manchester United players. They are finished for the season."

Chelsea captain John Terry, who led the team against the USA, will be joined on the sidelines by Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard, although Wayne Bridge - who came on for the final eight minutes last night and did not play in the European final last week - will travel.

United players Wayne Rooney, Owen Hargreaves and Wes Brown, who all started in the friendly at Wembley, will also be left behind.

But centre-back Rio Ferdinand, who has family connections in the Caribbean, will be part of the remaining 23-man squad as they prepare to board a transatlantic flight.