Rio Ferdinand has absolved Emile Heskey of any blame over the training ground collision that ended his dream of captaining England in the World Cup.

Ferdinand, who suffered knee ligament damage, will fly home after England's opening match against the United States having been given no chance of playing any part in the tournament.

"It was a complete freak, an accident," Ferdinand said, dismissing suggestions that the injuries he had during last season may have left him vulnerable to a fresh setback.

"The ball came in from one of the lads to Emile, I'd gone to try and tackle him from behind - he didn't actually see me coming - we both went off balance and Emile's weight went down on my knee.

"It's no fault of his at all.

"It's just a freak accident that could happen at any given time and it had no connection to any previous injuries I've had."

Ferdinand knew at once he was out of the tournament.

"It's disappointing, but I've come to terms with it now," he told BBC Radio.

"The first night was a pretty long night, going over what could've been and to not be able to represent your country in the World Cup.

"I was going over scenarios in my head of what could've been. Leading out your country into a major tournament is the stuff of dreams and it's taken from under your feet.

"It was a long evening thinking about stuff like that.

"But after that I've thought to myself I've got to get on with it.

"There's a lot more people worse off than I am.

"I'm not dying and it's not like I'll never be able to play football again.

"Hopefully I'll be able to come back, do some good rehab and I'll be fit and that's what I'm concentrating on now."

Ferdinand, who had taken over as England captain following the demotion of John Terry over off-field issues, has passed the skipper's armband on to Steven Gerrard.

But he expects Terry to continue to play the role of one of England's leaders once the action gets underway.

"Even when I was given the captaincy, I don't think that changes you," said Ferdinand.

"I don't think JT will change the way he plays or the way he is, just because he isn't wearing the armband.

"If he did, I don't think you'd see the same player.

"Likewise with Wazza (Wayne Rooney) - if he doesn't show the same passion or has to hold something back, you won't see the same player."

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