Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Pallister believes Rio Ferdinand has been consigned to the international scrapheap too early.
Ferdinand, 33, has been overlooked by national team boss Roy Hodgson since his decision not to take him to Euro 2012.
Despite John Terry's international retirement, the United centre-back did not make the cut for the World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland this week.
"For me Rio should still be in the squad.You have lost a vast amount of experience with John Terry's retirement and I think that Rio still has a lot to offer the England cause.Without John Terry and Rio we lack an authoritative figure in that back four and we didn't look so great at the back in the last internationals.
"Gary Cahill is playing at the top level with Chelsea but has still got much to learn, Joleon Lescott is no longer playing in some of the big games for Manchester City and Phil Jagielka has been spasmodic in the games he has played for England and Ryan Shawcross is unproven at that level.
"Time will tell whether they can answer the questions being asked of them - I hope they can but in the meantime why not bed them in with the experience of someone like Rio? I think considering Rio's experience we've put him on the international scrapheap far too early.
"I watch him every other week and I think he is still a class apart and I think Roy has probably got it wrong.Of course he has lost some pace. He is going to lose it because he's coming up to his 34th birthday.But I played alongside Steve Bruce (at United) and he was the first to say he didn't have great pace.
"But it was all about reading the game, the timing of a tackle, being in the right at the right time - look at Bobby Moore: he didn't have blistering pace. "Rio is a class act. He reads the game better than any other English centre-half in my opinion.''
my prayer is even for them not to call him up so he can have time for man.united
I'm not sure England knows how good this defender is.They don't actually know what they are missing by exempting him from tough competitions