The Italian said: "He played the last game I saw in the Champions League and was fit 15 days ago. I think he's fitter now. I've seen that in training."
Ferdinand is determined to lead by example as he wears the captain's armband again in the absence of Chelsea defender John Terry who stayed behind in London due to a back problem.
There are concerns that England could be vulnerable at the back without two of their most experienced defenders, but Ferdinand added: "The lads in the squad that we have here are capable players.
"We see people do it week in week out for their clubs, and now the opportunities are coming for them to produce it for their country. The lads will be confident they can produce.
"The senior players, like myself, need to step up and lead from the front and put in a good display.
"A draw would be a decent result but we want to win, we want to make the best start to qualifying this country has had in 30 years. That is something there for us to achieve and we want to do that."
Capello last night called up Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and Middlesbrough central defender David Wheater from the Under-21 squad as cover.
