Roy Hodgson: 'Wayne Rooney is world class'

Roy Hodgson has praised Wayne Rooney's ability and believes that he is lucky to have a player of such talent available to select, following the end of the striker's suspension.

Having already announced that Rooney would start against Ukraine, Hodgson was keen to praise the Manchester United forward's ability and professionalism in training.

Hodgson said: "Wayne is a quality player. I would suggest that he is world-class. You are lucky, if you are the manager of a national team, to have players of his quality available for selection.

"His training performances have been first-class and he has been first-class around the place in terms of encouraging all the players and backing them up."

England need at least a point from Tuesday's game against Ukraine.