John Terry ignores Roy Hodgson's plea to stay with England In a statement Hodgson said he "reluctantly" accepted Terry's position, which is understood to stem from his belief that he will be banned by the FA despite the not guilty verdict returned by Westminster Magistrates" Court, which he believed should have been the end of the matter. "I am of course disappointed to lose a player of John's international experience and exceptional ability," Hodgson said. The England manager's support for Terry in the event of a guilty verdict would have posed a major challenge to FA chairman David Bernstein, who in February stripped the defender of the England captaincy after his criminal trial was delayed until after Euro 2012. Hodgson effectively owes his job to that decision, as it prompted his predecessor, Fabio Capello, to resign. Seven months later it continues to define Hodgson's tenure, and now poses the most significant challenge yet. Terry was his first choice centre half at Euro 2012, where he was perhaps England's best player, and as Hodgson made clear on Sunday, would have remained so. His absence means Hodgson now has to consider an approach to Anton's brother Rio, who was deeply offended by being overlooked for the Euros, or tackle the World Cup qualifying campaign without an experienced international centre half. England play San Marino at home and Poland away in three weeks" time and there is a dearth of cover at centre half. Hodgson selected Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill alongside Terry for the recent qualifying games against Moldova and Ukraine, and all three are currently available. Possible replacements Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Martin Kelly, who was called up as cover for Cahill at Euro 2012, are all injured, while Tottenham's Stephen Caulker is not a first choice at White Hart Lane. Overlooking Manchester United's first choice centre half would be a bold step for Hodgson to take, though he claimed his exclusion from the European Championship squad was justified for "football reasons." An approach to the older Ferdinand brother will require Hodgson to navigate a minefield of personal allegiances and sensibilities bruised by the Terry affair. On Monday night the FA said there had been no contact between Hodgson and Ferdinand, and it remains to be seen how he will react. Following his exclusion from the Euro 2012 squad his representative, Jamie Moralee, accused Hodgson and the FA of "a total lack of respect." Rio Ferdinand's relationship with Ashley Cole has also been undermined by the controversy. The Chelsea full-back is England's most experienced player and an integral part of Hodgson's plans, but his support for Terry in the criminal case, where he appeared as a witness for the defence, is understood to have disappointed both Ferdinand brothers. Cole will again appear in Terry's defence at the FA disciplinary hearing. Last month Rio Ferdinand was fined £45,000 for engaging in an exchange on Twitter in which Cole was referred to as a "choc-ice," a pejorative expression understood to describe someone as "black on the outside, white on the inside." Terry will be back at Wembley on Tuesday for the continuation of his hearing. The prosecution presented its case on Monday. Terry's defence is likely to begin on Tuesday. He has also been selected in Chelsea's squad for the home Capital One Cup tie against Wolves. FA general secretary Alex Horne took issue with Terry's explanation for his international retirement, saying that the body's governance function was separate from the England team set-up. "I don't see how we've made it untenable - they're two very separate processes," Horne said.