Soccer

Wayne Rooney putting in the hard yards at training

England striker unhappy with media claims he was working with back-up players

Wayne Rooney talks to England manager Roy Hodgson during a training session at the Urca military base in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Wayne Rooney talks to England manager Roy Hodgson during a training session at the Urca military base in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Tue Jun 17 2014 - 14:50

Wayne Rooney has hit out at claims he trained with England's back-up players during training on Monday, insisting he was just putting in extra work ahead of the do-or-die clash with Uruguay.

No stranger to scrutiny, this tournament has been no different for the 28-year-old as he looks to help England out of Group D.

Rooney has never scored at a World Cup and missed a wonderful chance in Saturday's promising, if ultimately frustrating, 2-1 defeat to Italy in Manaus.

The Manchester United forward stayed on for extra shooting practice after training on Monday, although he has hit back at suggestions it was down to desperation to prove himself to Roy Hodgson ahead of Thursday's match in Sao Paulo.

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“Sometimes wonder what the press are getting at,” Rooney posted on his Facebook page.

"I said from the start I want to do everything I can to make sure I'm ready for these World Cup games and as part of that I was doing extra training a week before the squad joined up.

“That’s exactly what I did yesterday, my own extra training because that’s what I wanted to do.”