Royal cock-up leaves King humiliated

And so ends the most pointless call-up in the history of the three lions. Ledley King left England's training camp this afternoon and will not feature in Saturday's friendly against Slovakia or the World Cup qualifier with Ukraine on April 1.

An exercise in futility from the start, Fabio Capello's decision to include the inspirational but injury ravaged defender in his latest squad has served only to raise, then dash, the hopes of a player who deserves so much better.

The extent of King's knee injury is public knowledge. It means he is unable to train during the week. He struggles to be fit even when given seven days break between matches. Quite what Capello hoped to achieve by recalling him to the England fold for the first time in two-years is beyond comprehension.

This is a player who, when fully fit, is one of the most accomplished centre-backs of his generation. He has had to come to terms with having fluid drained from his knee each week to be able to have even the slightest chance of taking his place at the heart of a defence which looks hapless without him.

But cope he has, and in recent weeks, like a sober Paul McGrath, he has defied the doubters -who claimed he was finished - by to turning in some remarkable performances. And, being the professional he is, he would have put the thought of pulling on an England shirt again firmly to the back of his mind. After all, how can you play in a major tournament if you can only play one game every seven days.

That was until Saturday evening, when he got the call from Capello informing him that the impossible was possible. You can't blame him for jumping at the chance, and nor can you criticise Harry Redknapp, who probably didn't jump at all when he heard the news.

The FA defended the decision, but in the light of Kings return to White Hart Lane, it's stance looks as dodgy as the knee that will blight the rest of his career. It claimed "no risk" would be taken with the player and that they "fully understood Ledley's injury situation". But, try as I might, I can't see one ounce of "understanding" in what has happened.

There was no chance King would play any part against Slovakia or Ukraine, and thus nothing could possibly be gained from Capello's desire to "have a close look at him". I wonder whether, during this analysis, they noticed how King arrived at Arsenal's London Colney training facility this morning brimming with pride, and left humiliated.
 

It's another tragic twist in a career that promised the world. "Ability-wise Ledley King is certainly good enough to be a World Cup squad," said Stephen Gerrard this week. He's right. In fact, some might say he's the most naturally talented centre-back this country has produced for decades.

Gerrard went on to imply that Redknapp had put pressure on the FA to withdraw King from the squad and, if so, Harry has done the right thing. Maybe he should have been more firm when first approached by Capello, but he is likely to have been torn between protecting his prize asset and a wish to see him rewarded for his fine form.

His relief at today's events will be echoed by the club's fans, who know that our faint chance of European qualification rests on careful man management of Ledley's injury, which is peverse, given that King is likely to play little part if we do snatch a place in next season's Europa League.
 

While we are on the subject, we could probably do without the hassle of playing in it anyway. Convoluted and seemingly never ending, the Uefa Cup has little going for it, save giving fans the right to chant songs about European tours and the odd match against one of the big clubs to have toppled out of the Champions League. I can't help but think that next season might be better spent without the distraction, with all focus being on making sure our domestic campaign is a little less humbling next time around.
 

Not that this will have any bearing on King, who will probably spend his Thursday nights trying to forget when Capello humiliated him in front of the nation.