London: England manager Roy Hodgson expected strikers Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge to have little problem clicking despite a lack of playing time together, he said ahead of Friday’s World Cup warm-up match against Peru.
Liverpool’s Sturridge and Manchester United’s Rooney were the highest-scoring English players in the Premier League last season with a combined 38 goals and are expected to lead the line in Brazil where England face Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica in Group D.
Injuries to Rooney and Sturridge’s recent rise to prominence means the duo have had limited opportunities to play together for England, a fact that did not concern Hodgson. “Don’t think we’ve had the opportunity to see the two of them together as many times as we’d like as quite often one or the other of them has been injured,” Hodgson said at England’s St George’s Park training base on Thursday.
“It’s one of many potential combinations. What I can say is they are two excellent players, two first class players, and I’ve always been of the belief that when you’ve got first class players who really don’t have any particular weaknesses, there is no reason why they can’t play together.
“I sometimes think we complicate things by suggesting that two good players can’t play together because there are some similarities, I don’t really subscribe to that.”
Rooney failed to impress at Euro 2012 and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but Hodgson said the 28-year-old, who battled a groin injury towards the end of United’s disappointing season, had returned from a short break looking fit and fresh.
“He obviously worked very hard there because from the very first minute he’s been running around and looking very fit and lively, as one would expect him to be, so I’ve got to say the past is the past,” Hodgson said.
“It’s the present and the future that really interests me and... At the moment I’m very happy with my present and future with Wayne Rooney.”
