Ledley King returned to Tottenham this afternoon after a 48-hour England farce that has left the player “upset”.

The Football Association said he will play no further part in England's preparations for Saturday's friendly with Slovakia or the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine and his international career now looks to be over.

The move, taken with the full agreement of both the England and Spurs coaching staff, brings a predictable end to a bizarre two days which will leave many questioning why the player was put through the agonising experience which led to an unnecessary club-versus-country row.

England coach Fabio Capello sprang a major surprise when he picked King in his 24-man squad, given that it is well known the defender is unable to train due to a chronic knee condition.

Although King joined up with the England squad last night, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said Capello was “mad” to call up his defender, saying that if the 28-year-old featured against Ukraine a week tomorrow he could not be considered for club duty against Blackburn on 4 April.

King was on the team bus that went to training at Arsenal's London Colney complex this morning, but returned to the Three Lions' base in Watford without actually getting off.

Then, a couple of hours later, came confirmation of King's departure.

A statement released by the FA said: “Ledley King has returned to Spurs Lodge to continue his rehabilitation over the course of the international break, following discussions and assessments overnight by the medical staff of both the club and the England national team. It has been agreed by both parties that the best interests of the player are served by continuing his individual training programme at the club and he will play no further part in England's preparations or participate in the friendly against Slovakia or the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.”

The decision probably means his 19th cap, won against Estonia in Tallinn in June 2007, will be his last, although King will talk to his agent Jonathan Barnett before deciding whether to give up on his World Cup dreams.

Redknapp will view that as a sensible move, meaning he can now continue to monitor King's career in the best interests of Tottenham.
But the Spurs boss and King's agent will be angered that the situation ever got this far and questions are sure to be asked as to whether Capello knew the full extent of King's problems before revealing his squad on Sunday.

Redknapp said he had informed England assistant coach Stuart Pearce about the seriousness of the problems with King's knee injuries before the squad announcement.

The Spurs boss said: “We only found out officially on Sunday that Ledley had got an England call-up, but we heard a whisper last week he was in Fabio Capello's thoughts.

“I explained the situation regarding Ledley's knee to Stuart Pearce and told him to pass it on to Capello. I said if Ledley plays against Ukraine next Wednesday, there is no way he would be able to play for us the following Saturday.
“I explained that but they have gone and picked him anyway. I can't see it myself, it's mad.”

Before today's withdrawal, the FA had said: “The England management fully understand the player's injury situation but wanted to have a close look at him in the team environment as Ledley has not previously been part of Fabio Capello's squad.”