Two days before England face France in their opening game of Euro 2102, Roy Hodgson has explained his reasons for picking Martin Kelly ahead of Rio Ferdinand for his squad after a fractured jaw ruled Chelsea's Gary Cahill out of the tournament.

The England manager, who came in for severe criticism for choosing the inexperienced Kelly, told ITV that Ferdinand would only have received a call-up if he was going to be in the starting 11 and that he would not call upon a player of the Manchester United defender's stature just to be a member of the squad.

"Rio Ferdinand for me is not a player that you call up as a substitute, or to cover for the players that you have," Hodgson said. "We turned to Martin Kelly because I knew he was going to be someone who would be very useful to us. He's very happy to be here knowing that his chances of playing a big part in the tournament are quite small. You don't turn to people like Rio Ferdinand for that."

After being left out of the squad, Ferdinand has accepted that his international career may be over. "You would have to say it might be over with England for me," said the 33-year-old. "If I'm not getting picked now, especially when people are out injured, then it's unlikely I will be picked again."