I’m too young to captain England – Wayne Rooney backs John Terry’s reinstatement as skipper

John Terry and Wayne Rooney – England (Getty Images)

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Wayne Rooney has backed the reinstatement of John Terry as the permanent skipper of England.

Three Lions’ boss Fabio Capello had to make a decision concerning the captaincy for the upcoming European Championship qualifier against Wales, as both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard are sidelined with calf and groin injuries, respectively.

The former Real Madrid coach had recently admitted that he was considering reinstating Terry, and he has now done so on a permanent basis.

His decision represents a u-turn a little over a year after the Chelsea centre-half was stripped of the honour of captaining the national team, after the defender became the subject of a media storm due to allegations concerning his personal life.

But with that controversy having subsided, the Italian boss decided to go back on his previous decision and hand the armband back to Terry.

And Rooney appears to be fully supportive of the move as he is quoted by The Express as saying: “It’s a massive thing to captain your country. I’ve done it once and it’s something I will never forget.

“It’s down to the manager who he picks as captain and there is nothing we can do to influence it. As captain you have to shout and be a leader. But I have said many times that John Terry is a massive leader for us, even when he is not captain.”

On a personal note, the 25-year-old striker feels that he himself is still too young to wear the armband.

Rooney said: “I don’t really think about being England captain. It would be a great honour for me but I think I am way too young.”

Now the former Everton hitman hopes that England continue their positive run in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, with a game against Wales on the horizon.

“We have come back from an ignominious World Cup campaign last summer and done quite well in the qualifying games,” said Rooney.

“We will start as favourites against Wales. We are expected to win and as players we expect to win. It will be a difficult game and there will be a great atmosphere.”

Rooney is currently 24th in the Castrol Rankings, down from 12th the previous month, while Terry is 59th, up from 72nd a month ago. The two England team-mates are set to clash for their respective clubs next month in the two-legged Champions League quarter-final.