John Terry still will not be returning to the England team, regardless of the fine form he’s displayed for Chelsea, England boss Roy Hodgson has insisted.
Terry, who retired from international football in 2012 before his disciplinary hearing regarding his alleged racist abuse of QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, has been performing well for Chelsea this season, particularly in the club’s recent victory over Manchester City.
However, despite the likes of former England captain Gary Lineker calling for Terry to be brought back into the squad ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Hodgson has said that Terry’s retirement still stands.
The manager said: “I have nothing more to say than I have already said. John has retired and as far as I am concerned that is the situation.
“We have got along without him for the whole of the qualification and a few friendly matches as well so we will have to get along without him in the future. As far as I am concerned, retirement is retirement. You respect that when players retire and we move on.
“We moved on after our first qualification game when John Terry limped off and since that time we have chosen the players who are available who have represented us well in my opinion so we will continue with that.”
Hodgson is set to name the squad he will take to Wembley for England’s first friendly of the year against Denmark on February 27th.
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