Recent international breaks have been a little out of the ordinary for Wayne Rooney.
Until the last 12 months or so, Rooney has been almost guaranteed of his place in the England squad since making his debut for the senior side back in 2003. This is no longer the case, leaving the Everton forward with a little extra time to spend with the family, work on his fitness or do a spot of community service at a garden centre.
With Gareth Southgate’s England now securing their spot at next summer’s World Cup, a couple of Rooney’s former international teammates reflected on the then 17-year-old’s first Three Lions training session.
Owen Hargreaves, who would later play alongside Rooney at Manchester United, and Darius Vassell were both present that particular day, and told the tale how the youngster made an immediate impression on the rest of the England camp while on 5Live Sport
“He scored a goal in training and literally the whole session stopped and gave him a round of applause,” Hargreaves began.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. He went for a mazy run through everyone.”
“Wazza’s face at the time, I’ll never forget it, nothing. Nothing. The word I would describe Wayne with at that time was fearless.
“It was like he was playing with his mates or his little brothers… He was utterly fearless and had this power, he was almost like a machine at that time.”
“It was like 5-a-side football,” Vassell added. “Players’d be knocked to the ground. I remember Martin Keown being on the ground. He’s not that easy to drop and he wasn’t too chuffed.
“We loved him as a group. He came in straight away and started flying.”
'Everyone applauded him'@vasselldotnet and Owen Hargreaves remember record-breaker @WayneRooney's first @England training session. pic.twitter.com/wrt1lA7L68
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) October 6, 2017
