Rio Ferdinand will not be fit to captain England in next week's friendly against Egypt due to a back problem. The Manchester United defender has been initially ruled out of Sunday's Carling Cup final with Aston Villa, but Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed he will be out for a longer period. "He won't be fit for the England game. That is obvious," Ferguson said. "You never know with back injuries and we have been through this before, but we don't think it is too serious. "I don't think he will be fit for the AC Milan game but I don't think it will be long afterwards. We think he could be back in two weeks." Ferdinand's season has been hampered by a series of injury problems which saw him start only six games for the Premier League champions so far. The commanding center-half has been installed as England captain last week, replacing beleaguered Chelsea skipper John Terry. Liverpool star Steven Gerrard is now set to lead the Three Lions against the African champions at Wembley.