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John Terry is considering a shock international ­return.

The Chelsea skipper, 33, is poised to make himself available for England’s friendly with Denmark in March.

Terry, the Three Lions' former captain, is said to be tempted to put himself up for selection in an attempt to make Roy ­Hodgson’s World Cup squad.

The Blues' stalwart quit international ­football in September 2012, just before the FA found him guilty of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand after he had been cleared of a criminal charge.

Any comeback would be politically difficult for Hodgson, but it would give the England coach a serious dilemma.

Hodgson publicly ruled out a Terry comeback in November and the England manager would not make the first move towards the Chelsea man.

Though loyal to the players who gained qualification for Brazil, Hodgson is a pragmatic manager who knows Terry has probably been the outstanding English centre-back in the Premier League this season.

Phil Jagielka and Terry’s Chelsea team-mate Gary Cahill performed well during England’s qualifying campaign, while Chris Smalling has always been a personal favourite of Hodgson.

The versatility of Phil Jones makes him a likely selection for Brazil, but both of the Manchester United youngsters have patchy injury records.

Terry made hints that he could reverse his retirement last April, only to then insist that he would not come back unless there was a major injury crisis.

But his improved form and fitness levels have led to suggestions from those close to the player that he may be willing to change his mind.

Terry also had a personal grievance against former FA chairman David Bernstein, over the Ferdinand verdict, which led to a four-match ban last season.

He refused to shake Bernstein's hand at a Champions League trophy handover ceremony in London in April. But, with Bernstein having now left office, one stumbling block to a potential Terry return has been removed.

With Rio Ferdinand having also retired from international football, Hodgson would not be left to choose between the two feuding centre-backs, as he did before Euro 2012 when he controversially selected Terry, but not the Manchester United player, citing “footballing reasons”.

The Denmark match is England’s only friendly before the end of the season, so it represents Terry’s last realistic chance to throw his hat back into the ring and add to his 78 caps.

Many within the FA would caution Hodgson against a return for a player whose international career was punctuated with controversies.

He was seen by some as a divisive figure during the disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa.

That came after Terry was stripped of the captaincy by Fabio Capello over a reported affair with the former partner of Wayne Bridge – an allegation Terry has always denied – only for him to be reinstated by the Italian.

Capello then quit when he was ordered to sack Terry as captain again, in the wake of his bust-up with Anton Ferdinand.