Wayne Rooney has said that he is not worried about losing his place in the England team and that the fierce competition for places up front for Euro 2016 “excites” him.
The Manchester United forward last played a game on 13 February against Sunderland as he sustained a knee injury in training with his club a few days later.
Rooney said on Tuesday night that he expected to be back in training within “the next week to 10 days” and that he was looking forward to the European Championship this summer.
Asked whether he was concerned that he would not make Roy Hodgson’s starting XI for England’s opening game at Euro 2016 against Russia, the 30-year-old said that the most important thing was not who played but that England had a good tournament.
“The [competition for places] excites me,” he said as a guest in the ITV studio for the England v Holland game. “First of all I want England to be successful and win trophies and obviously it’s great that I can be a part of that. This is an opportunity for us to do really well in the summer.
“The decision is down to Roy Hodgson but I want to be there and want to be involved and help and hopefully lead this team to be successful.”
Rooney added that the fact that players such as Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane had emerged meant that England would have a better chance of going far in France this summer.
“In previous tournaments, if everyone was fit, the team was more or less set,” he said. “Now no one knows what’s going to happen. The manager can play three or four different teams or combinations if he wants to because we have got that quality. For the country this is going to be an exciting tournament.”
Rooney also praised Vardy for his performances this season and said that one of this three sons had asked for an England shirt with the Leicester City player’s name on the back. “My lad asked me to get an England kit with Vardy on the back,” he said.
“I think the impact he has had this season for Leicester and now for England is great for English football and hopefully he can continue that and score more goals.”
