The decision to axe Wayne Rooney from the England starting line-up to face Slovenia is backed up by statistics which show the ageing captain has endured his worst year for the national side in 10 years, and the second-poorest of his career.

Rooney has scored just two goals — against Australia in a friendly and a penalty in the humiliating Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland — and provided no assists in eight appearances.

That means Rooney’s direct involvement in England goals has been just 0.29 per 90 minutes played.

His worst year, goals and assists-wise, came in 2006 when he suffered a metatarsal injury which made him a doubt for the World Cup. Although he did make the squad in Germany, it ended in disappointment after his sending-off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho as England crashed out to Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Rooney failed to score at the tournament and his solitary goal that year came in a 1-1 friendly draw against Holland in November, giving him an overall contribution of 0.16 goals per game.

His most productive year was 2008 when he hit five goals — one in a World Cup qualifying win over Croatia and two apiece against Kazakhstan and Belarus — and created four more to have a hand in 1.26 goals per game.

Perhaps significantly, and to illustrate that his recent slump could be merely a blip, Rooney’s second-most successful 12 months was only last year. He scored five goals — in Euro qualifiers against Lithuania, Estonia, San Marino and Switzerland and a friendly win over France — and created two for a contribution of 1.05 goals every 90 minutes.