John Terry has received assurances that he will be given an opportunity to assert his claim for the England captaincy under Fabio Capello and that he remains a leading candidate to take the job on a permanent basis.

It is understood that Terry was told his time would come by a member of Capello’s coaching staff before the squad met up for the friendly defeat by France in Paris on Wednesday, increasing his surprise at the brusque manner in which he was passed over. The England manager told Rio Ferdinand that he would wear the armband at the Stade de France as the players were eating lunch at the team hotel on Tuesday, leaving Terry to absorb the shock in public.

Terry no longer considers the position to be his own, although he is confident of regaining it given the opportunity to demonstrate his credentials. Despite his image problem, the Chelsea captain has proved an inspirational figure in the past, playing a crucial part in fostering the team spirit that helped to win two Barclays Premier League titles.

Terry’s chance is likely to come in one of the two spring friendlies, against the United States and Trinidad & Tobago, but Capello could keep him waiting until the first match of next season, against the Czech Republic on August 20, as there are other potential candidates he wishes to audition. The Italian has spoken in glowing terms about the tactical intelligence possessed by Gareth Barry that has made him such an outstanding leader at Aston Villa, while he is also considering giving an opportunity to Wayne Rooney, which would be more of a surprise given the striker’s limited experience of captaincy and perceived temperamental weaknesses.

Rooney has been an enthusiastic captain on the handful of occasions he has been given the honour of leading Manchester United and would jump at the chance to captain his country.

Terry will endure a nervous summer if he is not given the captaincy for either of the next two matches, although perversely, such a scenario could signal Capello’s intention to give it to him permanently. For all his notorious toughness, Capello is conscious of the problems that could be caused by giving Terry the honour only to take it away again.

Before the match against France, Capello issued a strong warning that his captain must be a good role model on and off the pitch in a coded message that was interpreted as being aimed at Terry, although the defender’s biggest challenge will be to maintain his form and fitness. He has suffered seven injuries in the past 15 months and with Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King’s injury problems receding, competition for places at centre back is more intense than ever.

Ferdinand is Terry’s strongest rival and yesterday he outlined his desire to keep hold of the armband. “When leading the team out, I don’t think you would have found a prouder man on the planet,” he said. “It was a great honour and something that will live long in the memory. Who knows how long it will be for, but I’m very grateful to the manager for giving me that opportunity. You can’t look back and think, ‘I feel bad or out of place.’

“I’m comfortable with any surroundings I am put in. The manager has got to make the decisions, big decisions, and the captaincy is one of them.”

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