In an official statement issued, the F.A. confirmed that Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will take over from Ferdinand. It said: "England Captain Rio Ferdinand today suffered a left-knee ligament injury in training.
"Further to a scan arranged by the England medical staff immediately after training on Friday afternoon, Rio has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks and will therefore unfortunately miss the World Cup.
this might be a blessing in disguise as Rio is clearly lacking match sharpness - his injury plagued season looked to have taken its toll on the evidence of the 2 recent friendlies. Provided Ledley King stays fit he'll be a better option and interestingly Dawson who has had a far better season than Matthew Upson and shouldn't have been left out in the first place will now be available as well.
In big competetition international experience seems more important. I am sure England lost an important player in Rio.