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Rooney aiming to train hard and be ready when called on
Posted Thursday, May 31, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

England striker Wayne Rooney insists he will ensure he is ready to return after missing the first two games of Euro 2012 through suspension.

The 26-year-old has joined his England teammates at their Hertfordshire base ahead of Saturday's friendly with Belgium at Wembley, a game in which he is not expected to feature. But the Manchester United forward says that he will train as hard as possible to get back into Roy Hodgson's team upon the completion of his ban.

"I've had a rest and I probably needed that. Being in the squad feels good. It's a few weeks before I can play so I will aim to do some good training to be ready if needed," Rooney told TheFA.com.

The striker also expressed delight at his inclusion in Hodgson's first squad, highlighting that new managers often look to different players.

"You don't know if a new manager will have you in his plans so it was nice to know that I am," he added. "It is important I do my training right. I have had a long time to think about missing the first games. It's disappointing but something I've dealt with and I am looking forward to the first game for the rest of the lads and hoping we can get something out of that."

Rooney echoed the thoughts of captain Steven Gerrard, insisting that the Three Lions will take the summer's tournament one game at a time.

"We are in a tough group so we have to be focused in every game and take each game as it comes," he continued. "We have a lot of young players which is good so we should be fresh with lots of energy."

Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia