Hodgson rules out England return for Terry

Terry retired from international duty in September 2012 following a fall-out with the Football Association, but his solid outings domestically this season have led to speculation that he could come out of retirement to aid England in their bid for glory at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil later this year.

Hodgson's options in the centre of defence appear thin. Among the defenders handed a call-up, only Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill have been playing regularly at centre-half for their respective clubs, with Manchester United preferring to use Chris Smalling at right-back, and Phil Jones in midfield.

With Terry playing, and thriving, alongside Cahill on a weekly basis, talk of a return has gathered momentum, but Hodgson was quick to dismiss such speculation on Wednesday.

He said: "John has retired. As far as I'm concerned, that is the situation.

"We've got along without him for the whole of the qualification and quite a few friendly matches, and we'll have to get along without him in the future.

"As far as I'm concerned, retirement is retirement."

England are due to play Denmark at Wembley in a warm-up match on March 5, which will be the last game before Hodgson names his squad for the World Cup, due to begin in June.