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'I hope Rooney will be available for Euro'

December 06, 2011 09:25 IST

England manager Fabio Capello will decide whether to include Wayne Rooney in his Euro 2012 squad after UEFA's decision over Thursday's appeal against his three-match suspension, the Italian said.

The Manchester United striker was sent off for kicking out at defender Miodrag Dzudovic in England's final qualifier against Montenegro in Podgorica on October7.

Fabio CapelloRooney was then suspended for three matches by UEFA, effectively ruling him out of all of England's Group D matches in June against France, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine.

The England manager is hoping UEFA show some leniency to Rooney.

"I need to wait and see how the appeal goes this week," he said after arriving back from the draw for the finals in Kiev.

"I hope Rooney will be there. The sentence, three games, was too much for me and I hope the appeal will help us reduce the sentence.

"I hope he'll be available for the third game. I hope they understand our lawyer, what Rooney says and what I will say at the committee."

Capello will be in Basel on Wednesday to watch United's Champions League match against the Swiss champions and will then accompany Rooney to Nyon for the hearing the following day.

Capello had previously indicated he would select Rooney regardless of the outcome of the appeal because he would be eligible from the quarter-finals onwards if England reached the last eight.

Rooney has played 73 times for England, and has scored 28 goals.

Source: REUTERS
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