Capello poised to reinstate Terry as England captain

LONDON (Reuters) -- England manager Fabio Capello seems set to reinstate John Terry as England captain, having stripped the Chelsea central defender of the position last year following newspaper stories about his private life.

Rio Ferdinand took over the armband but with the Manchester United defender and his vice-captain Steven Gerrard looking likely to miss the Euro 2012 qualifier against Cardiff on March 26, Capello is set to give the role back to Terry, possibly on a permanent basis.

"I am going to Manchester to speak to Rio," Capello told reporters ahead of United's Champions League game with Olympique Marseille on Tuesday.

"First of all I want to know when he'll be fit because he's a very important player for us. And after that I will explain to him what I will do next week, if I will decide for the new captain to be John Terry. After one year of punishment, it's a good period to understand a mistake.

"I think I need to make a decision about a permanent captain. It would not be for just one game."

Capello said his thinking had been influenced by the events of last month's friendly in Denmark when the captaincy passed from Frank Lampard to Gareth Barry and then Ashley Cole.

"I was really upset when I saw the armband being passed around and 'who is the captain, who is the next one?'" Capello said.

"For John Terry this was not the best moment to see this. I don't want the armband passed around. I understood the value of the captaincy in England.

"I will explain (to Ferdinand) what happened in Denmark and why I think about this. It's not because Rio's not a good captain. I want to speak with Rio and the players but at the end it will be my decision.

"My first captain was John Terry; after Rio, then Steve. My first choice was JT."