Manchester United midfielder, Michael Carrick, did not want
to be considered for next month’s European Championships, according to England
boss, Roy Hodgson.
There was some surprise that the 30-year-old former West Ham
United and Tottenham midfielder was not included in England’s 23-man squad for
the action in Ukraine and Poland, but Hodgson has revealed that Carrick was not
interested in representing his country, this summer.
"I wouldn't dream of putting Michael Carrick on a
standby list, after he's made it clear, in the past, he doesn't want to be
involved like that”, said former Liverpool and West Brom manager, Hodgson.
"I'd have to be convinced he was better than the four
central midfielders I've selected, and that he'd be happy to come out of
retirement."
Spurs’ Scott Parker, who is currently struggling to recover
from an Achilles injury, Manchester City’s Gareth Barry, Steven Gerrard of
Liverpool and Chelsea’a Frank Lampard are the four central midfielders Hodgson
has chosen for the tournament.
Carrick made his England debut against Mexico, in May 2001,
but he has not represented his country since the pre-World Cup 2010 friendly
international against the Mexicans.
He played in England’s second-round victory against Ecuador,
at World Cup 2006, but he has only won 22 caps.
That is a surprisingly small number of international
appearances for a player than has featured in almost 200 Premier League matches
for Manchester United, in the last six years.
Carrick has been a regular in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side since
moving to Old Trafford from Tottenham in an £18.6million deal, in July 2006.
Hodgson’s Three Lions are currently the fifth-favourites for
the win in the England Euro 2012 odds, behind France.
Visit the Betfair Euro 2012 website for more information on
the upcoming tournament in Poland and the Ukraine.
