• Defender won't retire but can't see way back under Hodgson • 'I have had injury problems but I was in good shape'

Rio Ferdinand has admitted his England career is almost certainly finished after the disappointment and controversy of being excluded from Roy Hodgson's England squad for Euro 2012.

Ferdinand, right, speaking about his omission for the first time, said he would continue to make himself available but was coming to terms with the likelihood that he will not get another chance under the current management.

"You would have to say it might be over with England for me," Ferdinand said. "If I'm not getting picked now, especially when people are out injured, then it's unlikely I will be picked again."

The 33-year-old has been left angry and hurt because of Hodgson's decision to overlook him and remains convinced that it is directly linked to John Terry's presence in the squad. However, he refused to criticise the England manager, who will have his own say at a Saturday press conference in Krakow.

"I won't discuss what Mr Hodgson has said to me but he knows I wanted to be in the squad," Ferdinand told the Sun. "If you aren't disappointed by being left at home when your country is playing in tournaments like this then there's a problem. I might have had a few injury problems in the past but I was in good shape.

"I always said I wouldn't retire from international football until I stopped playing and I won't. I will still be available and I'll be watching England and cheering them on because it's my country and I want us to do well."

Terry is due in court on 9 July to face trial for allegedly racially abusing Ferdinand's younger brother, Anton, when Chelsea played at Queens Park Rangers last October. Terry denies the charge and Ferdinand, in turn, has not accepted Hodgson's public declaration that the Manchester United defender was left out for "football reasons".

His firm belief is that Hodgson simply decided he could not take both him and Terry if they could not be trusted to have a good working relationship.

The decision, he admitted, had caused him great upset. "That's a perfectly natural reaction. I love being involved in football at the very top."