After emerging through one media scrum at Heathrow Airport yesterday, Capello knows another will have to be tackled in Warsaw this weekend if he does not manage to resolve Terry's future before he departs for the Euro 2012 draw tomorrow.

So, while the England coach wants time to make the decision he has been empowered to carry out, he realises that brings its own negatives and risks upsetting UEFA, who know their showpiece event could be upstaged completely.

A meal last night with trusted assistant Franco Baldini would not have brought much room for manoeuvre, if that was what Capello was seeking.

Baldini has been attempting to gather some facts to present to Capello on his return to the UK after knee surgery.

And the news from Manchester City does not hint at harmony.

"I spoke with Baldini on Monday morning," revealed Roberto Mancini of a meeting with his fellow countryman that took place at Wembley, where the City manager had gone for an ultimately failed bid to secure a work permit for Kenya midfielder McDonald Mariga.

"He asked me about Wayne and I told him that he is training every day.

"I said it is not a good moment in his head but it's not a problem on the training ground. It's important he can play now and not think about the other person."

Although it is not certain, it is quite possible that Bridge will inform Capello he can no longer be part of the same squad as his former club-mate, who has been accused of having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel.

On pure ability and importance to the England squad, any decision about who to take would be a no-brainer.

However, that would leave Bridge out in the cold for no reason other than 29-year-old Terry overlooked their previous friendship when he chose with whom to cheat on his wife Toni and their two young children. Under the circumstances, that hardly seems fair.

Former national team manager Graham Taylor believes the key issue concerns Terry's performances on the pitch, and how they would be affected if the armband was removed from him.

Taylor told BBC Radio Five Live: "My view would be that if you miss John Terry more as a captain than you miss him as a player, then there's something wrong with the rest of your players. They don't become international players without having those leadership qualities in them.

"All this going on about 'let's take the captaincy away from him' ... if they do that, that's fine, as long as it doesn't affect his performances as a player.

"The most important thing is how he performs as a player, not that he's the captain."

Former United States striker Eric Wynalda found himself in Bridge's position before the 1998 World Cup when it emerged his wife was having an affair with team captain John Harkes.

And he told Five Live: "If this isn't sorted out, who knows what kind of damage it's going to have on the group.

"One of the big issues is building trust with the captain and he's lost that trust.

"I don't think for Capello the moral aspect will factor into the equation. He'll get to the bottom of it much quicker than we (the United States team) did."

Harkes was dropped from the USA squad after his indiscretion but the only member of Capello's coaching team who has put his head above the parapet so far, Stuart Pearce, offered hope that Terry will avoid a similar fate.

Pearce used the phrase "witch-hunt" and appeared to link it with the situation Terry currently finds himself in. If Capello comes to the same conclusion, the skipper will remain in his post.

Terry, and the rest of us, will soon find out.