England captain Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of the World Cup on Friday after injuring his left knee in their first full training session since arriving in South Africa.
The 31-year-old central defender suffered a ligament injury in the final minutes of training after he went into a tackle and fell badly. Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will now captain the team.
Tottenham Hotspur's Michael Dawson is to fly to South Africa to take Ferdinand's place in the 23-strong squad.
Ferdinand took over as captain after Chelsea's John Terry was stripped of the job in February because of an off-pitch scandal involving his private life but he has not played regularly for Manchester United this season due to a succession of injuries.
The United defender appeared for England in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and has made a total of 78 appearances, scoring three goals.
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