• England captain made 27-minute cameo at Upton Park
• Partnered brother Anton in central defence
Rio Ferdinand gave a lift to Manchester United and England after playing for 27 minutes in Tony Carr’s testimonial match at Upton Park.
Ferdinand has been troubled by back and groin problems all season, which have restricted him to only 11 Premier League starts for United.
The England captain made his return from three weeks on the sidelines as a late substitute in last weekend’s victory over Sunderland.
Sir Alex Ferguson had given Ferdinand permission to continue his comeback tonight by honouring the man who gave him his start as a professional.
Ferdinand partnered his brother Anton in the centre of defence for the West Ham Academy All-Stars and was untroubled during his cameo in a game that never rose above pedestrian pace.
“Rio rang me this morning at a quarter to nine to say he was heading to the train station to come down and that he could play 20 minutes,” said Carr, who has overseen the development of seven current England internationals.
With Chelsea concentrating on winning the title on Sunday, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and John Terry were not allowed to play but all three were present at Upton Park.
Michael Carrick, whose wife has just had their second child, Glen Johnson and Jermain Defoe sent their apologies along with Fulham’s Paul Konchesky, who was playing against Stoke. Bobby Zamora was with the Fulham squad but did not play because of injury.
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