FABIO CAPELLO is expected to announce on Friday whether John Terry will keep the England captaincy. The England head coach is considering his options following newspaper allegations that the Chelsea skipper had an affair with the former partner of international team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Capello is understood to be keen to have the issue settled before he travels to Warsaw for the Euro 2012 qualifying draw this weekend. He has asked his assistant, Franco Baldini, who is more fluent in English that Capello, to handle the situation and to keep in touch with 29-year-old Terry.

When Capello returns to England tomorrow – he was due to have an appointment today with a consultant in Switzerland about his recent knee surgery – he will then assess the situation and a decision is likely to be announced on Friday.

The idea behind making a decision swiftly is that it would leave Capello able to concentrate on the draw on Sunday.

It is unclear, however, whether Capello will deem it necessary to have a face-to-face meeting with Terry before making his decision or be content to rely on Baldini’s conversations with the player.

The FA have said Capello will make his decision “on footballing grounds”.