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The manager admits he has not spoken to the defender after picking him, and claims that there were "no sinister reasons behind his selection, or non-selection, in the past"

Roy Hodgson admits that he has not spoken to Rio Ferdinand but is hopeful the Manchester United defender will accept his recall to the England squad.

The 34-year-old defender has been called-up to the squad for the first time under the former West Brom boss, who admits that he has not held talks with any of the new recruits to his team.

"I haven't spoken to him, Michael Dawson, Scott Parker, any of them. I work, maybe naively, on that basis that Rio is keen to come back into the squad," Hodgson told reporters.

"When I meet up with [Ferdinand] on Monday I'll be speaking to him then, as well as all the players. I don't ring up individuals beforehand. I might ring up people if I'm going to leave them out, but not those who I select.

"There were no sinister reasons behind his [Ferdinand's] selection, or non-selection, in the past. I've picked him on form and merit.

"I've been following him for quite a while now. I must've seen Manchester United play at least four or five times in the past four to five weeks.

"Obviously he is playing well, his team is playing extremely well, and I just think this is the right time to select him because he certainly deserves it on his current form and I'm hoping he will help us to win the two matches because that's the most important thing for us.

"We need to move forward and at the moment, I am convinced that he is the man who will help us do that."

Hodgson stressed that the Manchester United man can play an important role in helping England on their way to World Cup qualification, and should be expected to feature in the starting XI for the upcoming fixtures.

"Obviously a player with Rio's calibre and also Rio's age, you don't bring them into the squad as backup players for a long-term future," he explained.

"You bring them into the squad or the team because you think they're going to make you better, or give you a better chance of winning. It wouldn't take too much guesswork to say that now that he's in the squad, he's there to play, not just to make up the numbers.

"I'm sure he could [continue to play for England]. Like all players you select, you select them because you think they are capable of doing the job that you want them to do.

"In the past I have chosen other players but at the moment I think Rio is the right man to help us certainly in these games but also probably in the games ahead. Who knows what the future holds?

"I can't make promises for the future. 2014 is a long way off, but if Rio Ferdinand is still playing like he is at the moment in 2014, he's going to be a major candidate for a place in the squad [for the World Cup]."

ENGLAND SQUAD IN FULL
GOALKEEPERS
FRASER FORSTER		BEN FOSTER
JOE HART
DEFENDERS
LEIGHTON BAINES		RIO FERDINAND
GARY CAHILL		GLEN JOHNSON
ASHLEY COLE		CHRIS SMALLING
MICHAEL DAWSON		KYLE WALKER
MIDFIELDERS
MICHAEL CARRICK		JAMES MILNER
TOM CLEVERLEY		LEON OSMAN
STEVEN GERRARD		SCOTT PARKER
FRANK LAMPARD		ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN
AARON LENNON		THEO WALCOTT
ASHLEY YOUNG
STRIKERS
JERMAIN DEFOE		DANIEL STURRIDGE
WAYNE ROONEY		DANNY WELBECK