Wayne Rooney may no longer be the main man at Manchester United and there are persistent rumours he may leave Old Trafford in a bid to find regular football but England manager Roy Hodgson has re-iterated his belief in the striker.
Rooney, despite winning the title for his club side in England, has endured a difficult season in which he was left out of big matches by his manager Sir Alex Ferguson - including a Champions League tie against Real Madrid - and often overshadowed by new signing Robin van Persie.
He was also omitted from the last two matches of the campaign after Ferguson revealed the 27-year-old, frustrated at being left on the bench, had verbally asked for a transfer.
In fact, statistics show Rooney hasn’t scored a goal for United since hitting a winner against Reading on 16 March and has managed only five in the league in the whole of this year so far.
By contrast, however, his form for England has been sensational - at least a goal in each of his last five international matches - and he seems certain to start in friendlies at home to the Republic of Ireland in midweek and away to Brazil this weekend after Hodgson underlined his faith in a player who has long been regarded as England’s talisman.
“I can’t comment on club football and his status within his club But I can talk about him as he is when he joins up with me, and how he behaves in our get-togethers, and I find his desire as strong if not stronger than when we first met,” said Hodgson.
“I have nothing but the greatest faith in him. I know he’ll be really desperate to get out and show what a good player he is.