Rio Ferdinand could follow Darren Fletcher in leading out his national team this weekend, following an injury in training to England captain John Terry.
If Terry's ruled out, then vice-captain Ferdinand would be the automatic choice to pull on the armband for the Wembley clash with Kazakhstan. As the first home qualifier, this match will be an important step towards World Cup qualification but Rio insists his ambitions are much higher than merely being on the plane to South Africa in 2010.
"With England I have been very disappointed," said Rio at a pre-match press conference.
"It's not just that I have never won anything with England, I have not even been in a position to win something by getting to a major final.
"I regard that is disappointing and the hunger to achieve something is only enhanced by the trophies I have won with Manchester United."
Rio's United team-mates Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney could also start for England on Saturday, while selection for future squads will no doubt be a goal for the currently or recently injured Michael Carrick, Ben Foster, Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville
Darren Fletcher admits there is a sense of bad timing about the international break, but insists he still relishes leading out Scotland this weekend.
After playing an important role in United's three wins over Bolton, Aalborg and Blackburn, the 24 year-old is hoping to take his club form into Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Norway, his 40th match for Scotland.
"Of course, we’d like to keep going with United because you want to keep up the momentum that we have built up recently, especially so for the fans, who have a two-week break now without a game," Fletcher told MUTV.
“But all players love representing their country, and I’m no different. I’m looking forward to the Scotland game and to playing my part. We lost our first World Cup qualifier but we picked up points in Iceland and now we’ve got Norway at home. It's a must-win match.”
Fletcher has received a glowing endorsement from his international boss George Burley, who feels the midfielder has all the necessary qualities to be a great leader on the pitch.
"Darren has been an outstanding player for Scotland for a number of years," said Burley. "And since I took over, his attitude towards playing for his country has been outstanding. He is a player who is always desperate to represent Scotland.
"It is a measure of his talent that, at his relatively young age, he has achieved so much for his club and will win his 40th cap for his country on Saturday. I know he will be very proud to lead the players out on Saturday. He will do a great job for Scotland."