Rio Ferdinand will travel to Barcelona for England's World Cup opener with Andorra on Saturday despite missing training for the second day running.

The Manchester United defender has been suffering from a stiff back and will be assessed again in the morning.

However, coach Fabio Capello is quite relaxed about the situation and the fact his vice-captain will accompany the team on the first part of their double-header, they travel to Zagreb to face Croatia on Wednesday, suggests Ferdinand will be involved.

Matthew Upson and Joleon Lescott are in Capello's 23-man squad should the Italian require a replacement to partner John Terry, while Wes Brown also has plenty of experience at centre-half.

The only absentee from training at London Colney this morning was Chelsea's Joe Cole, who is tipped to be handed the left-sided midfield spot as Steven Gerrard has been ruled out through injury.

Cole received a knock on his calf yesterday and will also be assessed tomorrow morning.