Since Rio Ferdinand replaced John Terry as the national team's leader back in February, he has struggled to overcome a back problem and prove he his fit enough to skipper the side.

The 31-year-old yesterday became the latest England captain to have his World Cup dream ruined, with a left-knee ligament injury suffered in training ruling him out of the tournament in South Africa.

Here, Press Association Sport looks back at how this injury curse has affected five England captains at the World Cup since 1982.

1982: Kevin Keegan

England travelled to Spain full of confidence, albeit with their captain sidelined with a chronic back injury. Ron Greenwood kept his faith in Keegan, hoping he would be able to influence England's campaign in the latter stages of the tournament, but a 26-minute cameo was not long enough for Keegan to fire England into the semi-finals. With England drawing 0-0 with Spain, a goal was needed to overtake Germany at the top of Group B. Greenwood threw on his skipper along with Trevor Brooking, who had also seen his tournament ruined by injury, but it was too little, too late as Keegan squandered a glorious chance to send England through. Many felt Keegan would have converted such an opportunity if he had regained his match sharpness in time.

1986: Bryan Robson

'Captain Marvel' proudly led his country to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico but had his dreams shattered just four minutes into England's second game. Bobby Robson opted to risk his skipper despite him suffering from a shoulder problem, picked up in a warm-up game. This decision backfired and Robson was replaced by Steve Hodge in the early stages of a disappointing draw with Morocco. With Robson ruled out for the remainder of the competition, England soldiered on without their captain before being cruelly dumped out of the World Cup by Diego Maradona's infamous double.

1990: Bryan Robson

Having recovered from the injury problems which shattered England's chances four years earlier, Robson went to Italia '90 even more determined than ever before. However, lightning struck twice when an Achilles injury ruled him out of England's second group game against Holland. His absence allowed David Platt to announce himself on the world stage with a stunning extra-time volley against Belgium to send England through to the quarter-finals once again. The captain failed to return as they marched on to the semi-final against West Germany where they fell to another World Cup curse - a penalty shoot-out defeat.

2002: David Beckham

Beckham secured England's place in Japan and South Korea with a spectacular right-footed free-kick against Greece but it was his left foot which dominated the headlines in the build-up to the finals. The nation went metatarsal mad after Beckham sustained a foot injury just eight weeks before the tournament. Beckham recovered in time to play in all five of England's games and avenged his famous dismissal in 1998 by scoring a penalty to beat Argentina. Question marks remained over his fitness though and his recent injury was widely blamed when Beckham shirked a tackle in the build-up to Brazil's equaliser as England were sent packing at the quarter-final stage.

2006: David Beckham

Beckham was still skipper for the 2006 World Cup but ended the tournament with an injury and then tearfully relinquished the armband. He limped out of the quarter-final with Portugal after just 52 minutes and watched from the sidelines as yet another penalty shoot-out spelt the end for England. He quit as captain the following day and faced a spell out of the team under Steve McClaren but he looked on course for a place in Fabio Capello's squad for South Africa until a similar injury ended his season and ruled him out of the reckoning.

2010: Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand replaced Terry as England captain in February and looked set to lead the team in the first World Cup on African soil despite an injury-plagued season for Manchester United. However, eight days before England's opening game against the United States, the former Leeds man sustained ligament damage to his left knee in training. Tottenham defender Michael Dawson has been called up, while Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has taken over the armband.