In what could be good news for Manchester United, striker Wayne Rooney looks set to return home from international duty early, missing England’s Euro qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania.
England manager Roy Hodgson had already been contemplating playing Arsenal forward Theo Walcott up front for the Three Lions after watching his performance during the Gunners 3-0 victory over Manchester United last weekend, and now given Rooney’s injury concerns looks set to make the switch sooner rather than later.
Rooney missed England training at St Georges Park for the second day running, and while he remains team captain Hodgson sees no point in allowing him to aggravate a minor injury he picked up during the loss to Arsenal.
When talking about the possibility of starting up-front for England, Walcott said: “I have had to wait my time.”
“It has been well documented I have wanted to play up front and Arsenal have given me the opportunity, which is great. It is taking that form into England and trying to stay there, that is the next goal in my career.
“I’ve played up front for Arsenal, so there’s an opportunity there, but again I can operate on the right, which I’ve been doing most of my career. Harry Kane has done very well for England. Danny Ings has come in and Jamie Vardy is the leading English goal scorer in the Premier League. We’re all completely different players so they are great options for a manager to have.”
