Former England midfielder Steven Gerrard has claimed that Wayne Rooney still has an important role to play for the national team should they reach the 2018 World Cup.
The Manchester United striker was overlooked by manager Gareth Southgate for his latest squad, seeing him miss the thrilling 2-2 qualifying draw with Scotland on Saturday evening.
England remain in a strong position to reach Russia, despite dropping points at Hampden Park, and Gerrard expects 119-cap Rooney to be a part of the squad due to his experience of playing at major tournaments.
"People are very quick to jump on getting older lads out of the England squad, but when it comes to tournaments it's important you have a good blend of youth and experience," he told BT Sport.
"Wayne brings that [experience] and he has scored a heavy amount of goals at international level and that's very difficult to replace. Of course it's been a difficult season for him but he's more than capable of getting a good pre-season under his belt and coming back very strong and forcing his way back in – I have no doubt about that."
Rooney surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton as England's all-time leading scorer in 2015, reaching the 53-goal mark in 117 appearances.
