Former England boss Terry Venables has slammed calls for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to be left out of the European Championship squad. In his column for The Sun, El Tel wrote: "How long Rooney will be out for is up to UEFA. The worst-case scenario would be a three-match ban, which means by the time he is available we could be on the plane home.

"With that in mind, I have heard some call for him to be left out of the squad.

"To me, that suggestion is as stupid and pointless as the incident that earned Rooney the red card in the first place.

"However frustrating the situation, the reality is England do not have enough world-class players to be able to leave one at home next summer.

"Is Roo worth the trouble he can cause at times? You bet he is - just like Gazza was.

"He is so much like Paul Gascoigne in the way he lives for football, works hard - probably too hard - expects others to do the same and then gets frustrated when they don't and things aren't going his way."