World Cup: England & Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand defends Qatar trip

Rio Ferdinand: The Manchester United defender has explained his trip to Qatar

Rio Ferdinand has defended his trip to Qatar despite a back problem which requires delicate fitness management ruling him out of England duty.

The defender had previously withdrawn from his country's squad for the World Cup qualifying double-header against San Marino and Montenegro after a surprise recall.

Ferdinand has confirmed he has made the trip to Doha, where he will cover England as a television pundit and is set to arrive at the Aspire sports Academy.

"Flown out for some pre-planned downtime...with a bit of punditry thrown in for a game I would have watched anyway. No different from what I done on the last 10-day international break...thank you guys. (sic)"
Rio Ferdinand

The Manchester United star on Thursday morning tweeted: "Gonna check into Aspire, state of the art facilities. Nice!"

Ferdinand later wrote: "1) Flown out for some pre-planned downtime...with a bit of punditry thrown in for a game I would have watched anyway.

"2) No different from what I done on the last 10day international break...thank you guys.

"Haters are gonna hate...also assume everything...although it must be the gospel truth based on assumptions!"

England boss Roy Hodgson had performed a U-turn in selecting the former West Ham United and Leeds United player for the qualifiers.

Hodgson had previously decided against the 34-year-old and he was not involved in Euro 2012 amid speculation over the racism row with John Terry, Ashley Cole and his brother - Anton.

Hodgson then named Ferdinand in his squad for San Marino and Montenegro only to see him withdraw due to his detailed pre-planned training and medical programme.