Rio Ferdinand avoids awkward reunion with former team-mate thanks to age old excuse

Disappointing news for anyone looking for some awkward moments on Saturday

Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti will their respective sides through their paces in a charity game at Old Trafford this Sunday all in aid of UNICEF. Fergie is taking charge of a Great Britain and Ireland XI, while the former AC Milan boss has a World XI to try and coax a performance out of. Despite not a single Irish player making the cut, there was keen interest when it the initial squad was announced that saw Rio Ferdinand set to share a dressing room with former England colleague John Terry. The FA found Terry guilty of using abusive language towards Rio's younger brother Anton in September of 2011, despite earlier that summer having been cleared in court of the racial abuse of the then QPR player. Ashely Cole gave evidence for the defence in the trial of the Chelsea captain, with Ferdinand in his autobiography admitting that he had mixed feelings towards the former England captain

"Three years later I find it impossible to forgive or forget the pain he (Terry) put my family through."

Ferdinand's absence is believed to be down to an injured calf, which any footballer knows, is the the classic excuse for missing a game. https://twitter.com/FootballFurious/status/664891201418452992 Rio isn't the only player to miss out on the game with Andy Cole, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta also set to miss out on Saturday's game. Still, the squads that are available aren't half bad are they