Keeping busy: Ferdinand was a guest at Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors

The manager is not expected to speak publicly until Thursday and his silence will only allow the issue to fester. The matter is further complicated by the fact that Gary Neville, who once backed a strike call over Ferdinand missing a drugs test, is now a key member of Hodgson’s backroom team.

Ferdinand, 33, is understood to have joked to a friend that he might be recalled if England are down to the Ryman League when selecting teams in future.

He is reluctant to turn his back on his country but has concluded that his omission is not based upon ‘football reasons’, as Hodgson initially claimed. Sources close to Ferdinand are certain the real reasons are tied up with allegations that his brother Anton was racially abused by John Terry during a league game last year. The case is due in court next month and Terry, who is in the squad, denies the charge.

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