Soccer-Smalling backs Rooney to make England return

The absence of Wayne Rooney from the England squad ahead of Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Scotland is a "big miss" but Manchester United team mate Chris Smalling said the forward's international career is far from over.

Rooney, England and United's record goal scorer, was dropped from manager Gareth Southgate's squad after an inconsistent domestic season where he made just 25 starts and 14 substitute appearances.

"Wayne is a big miss because of who he is but hopefully he will be back," Smalling told British media. "I think his numbers speak for themselves and he's still got a long way to go in his career.

"Whenever he makes up his mind what he's going to do next, I hope he can pull on that England shirt again and score some more goals."

Rooney has netted 253 goals for United and 53 for England.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)