I'm in charge - almost: Frank Lampard has been named England vice-captain Frank Lampard has admitted that the freak training-ground injury suffered by Rio Ferdinand, which ruled the England captain out of the World Cup on Friday, has been a devastating blow to the squad - but he insisted that the team would recover to have a successful tournament.
Lampard, now the new vice-captain with Steven Gerrard taking over as skipper, has known Ferdinand since they were schoolboy trainees at West Ham and he was one of the first to comfort him, visiting his hotel room after he had returned from hospital on Saturday evening.
Lampard revealed that it was an emotional moment as he attempted to console his friend and international team-mate.
'I didn't find it easy,' said Lampard.
'We spoke about the injury and I said how disappointed I was and that I was here for him.
'It made me feel sick in the stomach that it had happened so close to such a huge competition, especially after he had only recently been made captain. I can't imagine how he feels but we just have to keep battling on and be focused.
'There's nothing wrong with being very disappointed today and it's normal for everyone in the camp to feel that way for Rio. It's human nature.
'But we have to go forward and try to use it as a bit of extra bonding. We've lost a big player, a leader, but there is still a World Cup to win.'
New man at the helm: England skipper Steven GerrardEngland practised on Saturday without centre-backs Matthew Upson, who had a slight fever, and Ledley King, who cannot train between matches. Ferdinand's replacement, Michael Dawson, arrived midway through the session, coming directly from an overnight flight from London.
On the ball: Wayne Rooney is clearly enjoying his trainingFerdinand will decide over the next two days whether to stay in South Africa or fly home.
With the England squad enjoying an afternoon of golf on Saturday, they will finalise their preparations on Sunday with a training match against South African Premier League side Platinum Stars.
Fabio Capello can make unlimited substitutions in the match and Lampard conceded that the fear of sustaining an injury - and following Ferdinand out of the tournament - would affect the players.
Lampard said: 'I'm sure it was in the back of everyone's mind during training. You don't want it to be you.
'You can work as hard as you need to without going into ridiculous tackles. You have to be intelligent about it. You can be fullblooded without putting yourself at risk.'
David Beckham and assistant boss Franco Baldini were in the stands to see USA, England's opening World Cup opponents, beat Australia 3-1 in a friendly at Roodeport.
source: dailymail
