Capello to decide on Terry's captaincy (From Daily Echo)

Capello to decide on Terry's captaincy

4:44pm Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in

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Fabio Capello is expected to announce on Friday whether John Terry will keep the England captaincy.

The England head coach is considering the options available to him following newspaper allegations that the Chelsea skipper had an affair with the former partner of international team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Capello is understood to be keen to have the issue settled before he travels to Warsaw for the Euro 2012 qualifying draw this weekend.

He has asked his assistant Franco Baldini, who is more fluent in English that Capello, to handle the situation and to keep in touch with 29-year-old Terry.

When Capello returns to England on Thursday - he was due to have an appointment today with a consultant in Switzerland about his recent knee surgery - he will then assess the situation and a decision is likely to be announced on Friday.

The idea behind making a decision swiftly is that it would leave Capello able to concentrate on the draw on Sunday without the distraction of the captaincy issue.

It is unclear, however, whether Capello will deem it necessary to have a face-to-face meeting with Terry before making his decision or be content to rely on Baldini's conversations with the player.

The key factor in Capello's mind will be what is least damaging for the England team.

In the short term, there is a friendly match looming against Egypt on March 3, for which both Terry and Bridge - if fit - would both normally be selected for the squad.

Beyond that, Capello is looking to the World Cup finals in South Africa in June and must decide which course of action could impact least on the team's chances of success.

The FA have said Capello will make his decision "on footballing grounds".

An FA spokesman said last night: "Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry. He spoke with our chairman Lord Triesman and chief executive Ian Watmore today, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds.

"Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager."