• Euro 2012

Leave Rooney out of Euro squad - Collymore

Wayne Rooney will miss all three of England's group matches at Euro 2012 © Getty Images

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Former England striker Stan Collymore says Fabio Capello should leave Wayne Rooney out of his squad for Euro 2012 if the forward's three-match ban stands.

Rooney was handed the suspension by UEFA following his sending off against Montenegro, when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic and was shown a straight red card.

With no more competitive games for England before next summer's finals in Ukraine and Poland, Rooney will miss the first three games of the tournament which means he will not be available until the quarter-finals, should England get that far.

The FA is considering an appeal, but ex-Liverpool striker Collymore says Capello cannot afford to take a passenger to Euro 2012.

"I think it would be grossly unfair to some of the other players to have a player there that takes up a berth in a tournament for virtually all of the group games with the expectation and hope that we get in the second stages," Collymore told Talksport. "To move on from this, if the three-game ban does stand, we shouldn't be taking Wayne Rooney to the European Championships.

"It would send an awful message. When you've got a group of 22, 23 they are all there to be able to contribute and what message does it send to youngsters like Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Stewart Downing if they think 'well we have got us through the group stages but the golden boy [comes back]?'

"It would set Wayne Rooney out as more special than he actually is for England at the moment. If Rooney is going to miss three games, I'd rather have a player there that has the opportunity to come in, under the radar, and perform for England.

"We saw that at the World Cup where we start getting too concerned with the golden generation, players that haven't done it, and maybe it's an opportunity to give somebody else a try. Three games is a lot to miss."

Meanwhile, former England captain Alan Shearer believes the loss of Rooney would be "a huge blow" and says the Manchester United striker should be selected for the European Championships despite his three-match ban.

Shearer told the BBC: "I think anyone else maybe not, but it is England's best player. There's a huge incentive for four or five strikers to stake their claim to get his place - they've got a great carrot dangling between now and the end of the season.

"If they do well enough in the friendly games, then who knows, England manager Fabio Capello might decide not to take Rooney. But if it were me at this moment, he is our best player and even if the three-game ban still stands, then I would take him."

Phil Neville, Rooney's former team-mate for United and England, labelled UEFA's ruling "a joke".

The Everton midfielder said on Twitter: "Rooney banned for 3 games what a joke - if it was a Dutch Spanish Italian German player they wouldn't even get 1 game fact."

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