Rio Ferdinand is expected to be fit for the World Cup qualifying match against Croatia on Wednesday after it was confirmed that he would travel to Zagreb after coming through a training session in Barcelona this morning.

The Manchester United defender was suffering from a back problem that forced him to sit out the 2-0 win over Andorra on Saturday evening. It is thought Ferdinand suffered no immediate reaction following the session, raising hopes of facing Slaven Bilic's side.

Fabio Capello, the England coach, said that he would not allow Ferdinand to travel unless he was convinced of his fitness, although admitted he would not want to go into such an important match without Ferdinand alongside John Terry in central defence.

A rehabilitation session in the swimming pool at the team’s hotel in Montjuic yesterday raised Ferdinand’s hopes of being fit, having been rated doubtful on Friday.

If Ferdinand is fit, Capello still has difficult decisions to make, with Joe Cole and Emile Heskey hoping to have forced their way into his starting lineup after helping to engineer the breakthrough against Andorra as half-time substitutes in Barcelona.

Steve McClaren, his predecessor, paid the price for some foolhardy decisions against Croatia in the last European Championship qualifying campaign fielding three central defenders in Zagreb, where his team lost 2-0 in October 2006, and picking Scott Carson in goal 13 months later at Wembley, where they were beaten 3-2 and Capello is aware of the need to get things right for the match that promises to define this campaign.

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