Little more than 24 hours earlier the England manager had given assurances that the dramatic events at home would not impact on his performance in this European Championship qualifier. ‘No problem,’ said the Italian, convinced that news of his father’s arrest was something the Manchester United striker could park until he returned home.

As it was, Rooney allowed a persistent Elsad Zverotic to antagonise him before kicking Miodrag Dzudovic in the back of the calf and leaving Wolfgang Stark with no option but to send him off.

In doing so, Rooney left 10 men trying to protect a 2-1 lead for 16 minutes and left those same players now preparing for the start of next summer’s European Championship without their most gifted colleague.

To say it took the shine off England’s qualification would be an understatement. While the home fans stormed the pitch to celebrate wildly with their heroes, England’s players trudged off disappointed to have conceded a 90th-minute equaliser from Andrija Delibasic — but even more crushed that Rooney has jeopardised their chances in Poland and Ukraine before a ball has been kicked.

What will make it all the more galling for Capello is the fact that things had gone pretty well until then. He was not about to throw them a party, especially when a brief lapse in concentration had allowed Zverotic to score seconds before the break thanks to a nasty deflection off Gary Cahill’s boot.

But for 45 minutes prior to that England had been excellent, as confident and composed as they have looked during this qualification campaign.

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