England manager Roy Hodgson concerned over Wayne Rooney's fitness

Wayne Rooney’s match fitness is a concern for Roy Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that Wayne Rooney‘s fitness is a concern ahead of the Three Lions match against Scotland. Still, he feels that it is imperative to have him in the squad so that he will be able to monitor him closely.

Hodgson said: “Obviously he is not fully match fit. But the important thing for me was to have him in the squad and assess how many minutes he can play in the game and we will have to see and assess him when we meet up.

“I spoke to David [Moyes] and he understands that it is important to have Wayne with us.”

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Hodgson revealed that the Manchester United striker is eager to be a part of the match against Scotland.

“And Wayne of course wants to be part of the England set-up coming into these important qualification games, so we just have to accept that it might not be ideal that he hasn’t played the minutes we would have liked in pre-season but it is very good he is able to join and be able to play the minutes we think he can play.”

However, the England boss promised that the 27-year-old, who has played only 45 minutes of pre-season so far, would be handled in a cautious manner.

He added, “When we meet up we will speak to him and see and make a judgement call on that and our condition people might have to help us out as well because the last thing I want to do is play him too long and run the risk of injury, but he is available to us and we are appreciative of that.”

When asked about the future of Rooney, he said: “We have to wait and see what transpires. There will always be that situation and it probably won’t be the first situation where I pick a player who I think is good enough but is not playing for his club side. I have had it for 16 months so I can cope with it.”