A story of two Wayne's

Fabio Capello takes his England side into tonight's fixture with Egypt wondering what on earth is going on with his squad of players who are making more front page headlines than they are back page ones. The exception, of course, is Wayne Rooney who came on as a substitute in Sunday's Carling Cup final to secure a 2-1 victory for Manchester United over Aston Villa.

It was the striker's 28th goal of an astonishing season and presented Sir Alex Ferguson his 32nd trophy at Old Trafford.

Capello had chosen his squad the day before and whilst Rooney is in it, the chances of him playing must be slim and who would want to risk such an asset with so many important games to come before the World Cup - certainly not Ferguson and Capello himself must be reticent about taking such a chance in a meaningless fixture at the busiest time of the football calendar.

His squad, though, is depleted with the usual withdrawals but of most worry is the left back position with Ashley Cole out of action. Cole, whose private life is all over the tabloid papers is likely to be playing again by the summer but whether he will be fit enough to recapture this season's outstanding form is another matter entirely.

This had left a fantastic opportunity for Manchester City's Wayne Bridge to play a key role in England's bid to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966 but again events off the pitch have scuppered his hopes. Following revelations that former England captain John Terry had an affair with his ex-partner and mother of his child, Bridge pulled out of the squad not only for this friendly, but indefinitely, citing it would be untenable for him to be part of a team that also contained Terry.

As fate dictates the two men met in the Premiership on Saturday and the pre-match hand shake became the biggest talking point in British sport for days before the game. Bridge, of course, snubbed Terry's offered hand and the game went ahead with cameras trained on both men.

City made the headlines though as they crushed nine-man Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge to give their top four aspirations a real boost and it was Terry who again looked the most uncomfortable on the pitch.

Ancelotti, like his compatriot Capello, must now be wondering whether the media attention is taking its toll and rather than being the rock of both his club and national team Terry is becoming a liability. Only time will tell.

So, for Wayne Rooney, the future is as bright as a new day whilst for Wayne Bridge there are only the dreams of what might have been... but such is the way of modern football.

Events off the pitch are linked to events on the pitch like never before and with the way things are going this situation looks set to remain for some time yet.