Rooney must wait for England recall
Gareth Southgate will check on the fitness of his England forwards before making a final decision on whether to hand Wayne Rooney an international recall.
Rooney has forced his way back into Southgate’s thoughts following two goals in his first two Premier League games for Everton – the second of which was in front of the England manager against Manchester City on Monday.
But Rooney, England’s record goalscorer, may be reliant on the fitness of others as he waits to find out whether he will be included in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia.
Strikers Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford will all be selected if fit, but Jermain Defoe could be sweating on his place after failing to start Bournemouth’s first two games.
In the No 10 position, where Rooney has played for Everton, Southgate has Dele Alli, who is fit and has started well for Tottenham. Adam Lallana is out injured, but midfielder Jordan Henderson will return to the squad.
Southgate is also considering handing a first senior call-up to Nathaniel Chalobah, following the midfielder’s summer move from Chelsea to Watford.
Rooney claimed he would speak with Southgate before the squad is named tomorrow, having not played since the World Cup qualifier against Scotland last November.
Phil Jagielka has joined the clamour for a recall for Rooney, saying there is unfinished business for his Everton team-mate at international level. “With the season Wayne had last season – with him not being given the chance to play as much as he would have liked – he is concentrating on his football at Everton. If England comes knocking he has more goals to go for,” said Jagielka.
“He is England’s top scorer. I have been lucky enough to play with Wayne a number of times and he looks as good as ever now, as hungry as ever and hopefully that is a good sign for us.
“I am sure he will be happy. If not, we would be delighted he gets a rest and is ready to go for us.
“I think he ran the most [against City], he has been putting it in, he has been pretty much our best player throughout pre-season, so he looks fit and sharp, scores goals, so there is not much more that we will be looking for him to do.”
Southgate has never ruled out the possibility of recalling Rooney, but has attempted to move on from the 31-year-old by sharing around the captaincy in his absence.
Kane captained England for their past two games, against Scotland and France, and the Spurs striker is expected to be given the armband on a permanent basis.
Leicester City’s Harry Maguire could come into contention for one of the central defensive spots, although Southgate has John Stones, Gary Cahill, Michael Keane, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all available to him.