Dropped Rooney odds-on for England return

WAYNE ROONEY needs only nine more caps to break England’s all-time appearance record but he has drifted to 2-7 from 1-5 with Hills to overhaul Peter Shilton’s 125-match landmark after Gareth Southgate axed him from the side to take on Slovenia on Tuesday.

However, despite being dropped, bet365 believe England’s record goalscorer will win back his spot for next month’s qualifier against Scotland.

The Manchester United man is 8-11 to return to the starting 11 and evens to miss out, and Hills reckon the skipper will retain the armband should England reach the World Cup with Rooney 1-2 to lead them into battle in Russia.

Jordan Henderson, who will captain the team in Slovenia, is 11-4 to skipper the nation come the first World Cup finals match, while Gary Cahill is 7-1.

Rooney is 7-1 with Ladbrokes to score the winner from the bench and it’s a bold call from caretaker coach Gareth Southgate, who has been cut from 6-4 to 5-4 by Coral to get the gig on a permanent basis.

The majority of England supporters will be happy to see Rooney dropped – he was booed by a section of the crowd in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Malta – and Betway have shoved him out to 20-1 from 12-1 to be named as the fans’ player of the year.

Jamie Vardy heads that market at 7-4 from a quartet of Tottenham players with Dele Alli and Kyle Walker 6-1, Danny Rose is 8-1 and Eric Dier is rated a 10-1 poke.