Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney will concentrate on getting back to full fitness for Manchester United's trip to Everton on 17 October AFP

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will miss England's forthcoming penultimate Euro 2016 qualifier against Estonia at Wembley. The captain sustained a knock to his ankle during Manchester United's resounding defeat to Arsenal last weekend and also looks set to miss out on the trip to Lithuania, with the Three Lions having already confirmed their place at the finals in France with a 100% record at the summit of Group E.

"It is a disappointment for Wayne of course," Hodgson, who will hand the armband to Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill in Rooney's absence, was quoted as saying by BBC Sport in his pre-match press conference. "He is not the type of player who likes to miss games. He received a knock playing against Arsenal, the ankle is settling down very well but we don't want to risk him tomorrow.

"He has a lot of Man Utd games ahead and I would be devastated if something happened out there. The important thing now is for Wayne to fully recover from this minor injury and be fully fit the next time Manchester United play. Disappointing for us and for Wayne but good for Gary Cahill to have the chance to captain the team."

Although Rooney will play no part in the match on 9 October, he is still set to remain with the squad and receive a special award from Sir Bobby Charlton for breaking the former United stalwart's long-standing record of 49 England goals with a late penalty during the 2-0 victory over Switzerland last month.

Joining him on the sidelines for the visit of Estonia will be Danny Ings. The Liverpool forward, one of two first-time call-ups in the current squad alongside Tottenham's Dele Alli, also hurt an ankle after scoring for his new club during the latest Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Sunday but should be fit to travel to Vilnius.

"Danny Ings has not trained since joining us because he picked up an ankle injury against Everton but that has responded to treatment better than we thought it would," Hodgson added. "We are hopeful that by Monday he will be fit."

Hodgson's only other pressing injury worry concerns the fitness of Rooney's club teammate Michael Carrick, who completed 90 minutes against Arsenal but was forced to miss the most-recent England training session with a groin issue. Jonjo Shelvey is expected to be available for selection after picking up a knock playing for Swansea against Tottenham at the Liberty Stadium.

"Michael Carrick had a slight recurrence of a tightening of the groin and we did not want to take any chances in a light training session today on the basis it will help him be fit for tomorrow."