Emile Heskey snubs England return but Wayne Rooney keen to play

Emile Heskey has turned down the chance to come out of international retirement and assist England during their injury crisis, but Wayne Rooney will be fit and raring to go. The Manchester United forward, who missed Saturday's visit to Sunderland as a precaution to help him recover from an ankle knock, has spoken publicly for the first time since the World Cup about his loss of form and the personal problems that have bedevilled him this season. So poorly was Rooney performing at the start of the season, he said he would have understood if Sir Alex Ferguson had dropped him. "If he'd left me on the bench I would have understood that, I'd have understood it if he'd left me completely out of the squad. I know top players have dips in form. My time, my dip has come now and I'm just hoping I can get it right as soon as possible." Rooney, who has not scored for United in open play this season, has Ferguson's blessing to prove his fitness for England against Montenegro a week on Tuesday. "He knows I'm going to be part of that squad and fit to play," Rooney told Sky Sports News HD. "I'm sure he wants me to get that game as well because at the minute I need a few more games to get back to myself. I am 100% fit to play for England and everyone who knows me knows I want to play every game." Rooney touched for the first time on his disappointing summer with England. "It was a poor World Cup," he said. "I know by my own standards I didn't reach the form I would have liked. It still puzzles me why that was. I can't say I wasn't fit, we prepared well as a team, and though I have gone through a hard time since I was in the right state of mind. Sometimes you try to do too much instead of keeping it simple. It was a big disappointment, and I'm sure the whole of the country felt the same, but all I can do now is get back to doing what I do best and try to produce the football I know I can." When asked about the recent tabloid revelations about his private life, Rooney said, "It's obviously been a hard time but I just need to try to get back to doing what I do best, and playing football the way I can do. I'm only a human being, I hurt as well, but I need to get through this and get back to playing football the way I know I can do. I'm sure everything else will settle down after that." Rooney's commitment to the game at Wembley will be the best news Capello has had in a week of worries. With Jermain Defoe, Bobby Zamora and Theo Walcott already out, and doubts over Rooney's availability, the England manager turned in desperation to Heskey, only for the Aston Villa player to echo Paul Scholes in insisting his decision to retire from international football was final. "I watched Heskey against Wolves [last weekend] and he played very well," Capello said. "He is in good form and we needed him for the one game against Montenegro, but the decision was up to him." Capello is making a habit of trying to coax players out of retirement. His World Cup plans began to unravel on the day he revealed he had managed to convince Jamie Carragher to play for England again but could report no such luck with Scholes. Rooney's quick recovery takes some of the urgency out of the situation, yet even so Capello's latest excavation of the England vault hardly amounts to a vote of confidence in the ability of Darren Bent and Peter Crouch. The Italian's diplomacy and man-management skills will also come under scrutiny again. Heskey, who set up a goal at Tottenham yesterday but then had to go off injured, only retired in the summer, and as a favourite of Capello's, who unswervingly stuck by him, must have been expected to respond favourably to a plea to add one more to his total of 62 caps, especially at Wembley. Rather than talk to Heskey in person, however, Capello merely asked his assistant, Franco Baldini, to contact the player – as he did with Scholes at the end of last season. Heskey said no. Scholes subsequently admitted he might have changed his mind had he been given more notice, or had the England coach been more persuasive, and the same thing seems even more likely to be true of Heskey. For better or worse the England manager eschews the personal touch. "He always has done," an FA spokesman explained. "All through his managerial career, when he was at Milan and Roma, he has never dealt with players personally. He has people to do that for him. That is his style of management." Talking round players who still have something to offer, but for whatever reason have drawn a line under their international career, is a delicate task that only managers of national teams ever face. Capello is still relatively inexperienced as a national coach, and by his own admission he is still learning, yet if he rigidly sticks to the formula he laid down as a club coach he may never learn quickly enough. In the broader scheme of things it hardly matters whether Heskey plays against Montenegro or not – Bent deserves a proper outing and Newcastle's Andy Carroll could even come in – but if Heskey was the player Capello wanted he should have travelled to see him and made his case. Getting a minion to make a phone call is not in many text books, for the very good reason that it does not seem to work. England performers cannot be dealt with like employees, particularly the ones who have taken the decision to step down from international football. Carroll's omission from the Under-21s squad should not necessarily be interpreted as a sign that he is about to be named for the first time in the full England set-up. Capello still seems cool on the Newcastle striker and he has indicated a willingness to include Jack Wilshere in his senior plans even though the Arsenal player has been made available to Stuart Pearce for Friday's play-off against Romania. If Rooney is declared fit Carroll may not be needed at all. England are not blessed with many fit strikers but they are well off for captains, with Rio Ferdinand's return making life a little awkward for Capello in the light of Steven Gerrard's excellent performances while standing in. The exact timing is uncertain, but it seems likely the Liverpool player will be given the job permanently before long, simply because he is fit and available most of the time. "When all the players are fit I will announce the captain," Capello said. "I think Sir Alex decided at Manchester United that the captain [now Nemanja Vidic] needs to be someone he is sure will be fit for most of the games. That is important for all players but especially for a captain. Steven Gerrard is a really good captain, he is captain of Liverpool and like a captain he always plays as a leader on the pitch."