Mane man: Manchester United misfit Wayne Rooney poised to be made England captain
Mane man: Manchester United misfit Wayne Rooney poised to be made England captain
Hodgson has checked wantaway striker is mentally ready to wear the armband against Ireland and Brazil with Gerrard crocked
Game on! Rooney gets into England's team easier than he does Man Unted's
Michael Regan - The FA
Wayne Rooney is set to skipper England this summer after reassuring
boss Roy Hodgson he is in the right frame of mind to wear the Three
Lions.
Hodgson spoke to Rooney this week to confirm the Manchester
United striker is ready to join his squad in the wake of Reds manager
Sir Alex Ferguson going public on his transfer request and with wife Colleen due to give birth this month.
Rooney has also been linked with a shock move to Newcastle this week.
The
England manager announces a 22-man squad on Thursday afternoon to face
Ireland at Wembley on May 29 and Brazil in Rio de Janeiro four days
later.
He said: “I’m not going to give public statements about
what is best for Wayne and what he should do - that’s a matter for Wayne
Rooney and Manchester United to sort out.
“I’m only concerned
with what Wayne does for England and how he performs in the next two
matches and the World Cup qualifiers in the autumn.
“I’ve spoken
to Wayne because I was concerned about his wife having a baby soon, but
he was at great pains to assure me he was looking forward to playing for
England and that that is at the top of his agenda.”
The England
manager is poised to give Swansea winger Wayne Routledge his first
call-up and recall Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, who has spent the
season on loan at West Ham.
Hodgson is without first-choice captain Steven Gerrard as well as Jack Wilshere, Chris Smalling and Ashley Young. Boy for Brazil: Andy Carroll is expected to get the call from Hodgson
Ian Walton
Manchester United defender Smalling has undergone a foot
operation, ending an injury-ravaged season which did not begin until
early November because of surgery on a broken metatarsal.
Chelsea
defender Ashley Cole will be offered the chance to wear the armband
after earning his 100th cap in March but is expected to turn it down.
And
with Frank Lampard only returning from Chelsea’s post-season friendlies
with Manchester City in the USA late next Sunday, Rooney is likely to
be given the role.
The England manager added: “I have to bear in
mind that when you come back from a transatlantic trip, you suffer from
jet-lag. Wayne was captain against San Marino and I’m pretty sure he
will be captain England again.”
Hodgson, who spoke to Rio Ferdinand before the Manchester United defender announced his international retirement
on Wednesday morning, said he now believed both the Old Trafford man
and Chelsea's John Terry were no longer under consideration.
“You
never say never and, I suppose, if push came to shove and we were in a
desperate situation, I could maybe turn back to Rio and John,”added
Hodgson.
“But as far as I’m concerned now is the time to look
forward and get behind the players who I think will be the ones to take
us to Brazil.”
Manchester United's Phil Jones is likely to get
game-time in his preferred central defensive role, while Spurs
centre-half Michael Dawson and club-mate Jermain Defoe seem set to be
overlooked. Probable England squad to face Ireland and Brazil Hart,
Foster, Forster; Johnson, Walker, Cahill, Jones, Jagielka, Lescott,
Cole, Baines; Lampard, Milner, Cleverley, Carrick, Routledge, Walcott,
Oxlade-Chamberlain; Rooney, Welbeck, Carroll, Sturridge.
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