Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes
Wayne Rooney has denied claims made by Paul Scholes that he is "worn out" Getty

Wayne Rooney has hit back at criticism from former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes that the England striker may have already hit his peak and is "worn out".

Scholes said football fans may have seen the best of Rooney during the 2011/12 season because he peaked earlier in his career than most footballers.

But speaking from Miami, where England take on Honduras on Saturday in their final World Cup warm-up match, Rooney rubbished the claims.

"He's been a team-mate but he's been away from the first team for a long time," the 28-year-old said.

"I'm not interested. He's got his opinions so let's leave it at that."

In a column for bookmakers Paddy Power, retired midfielder Scholes, 39, also pondered whether England manager Roy Hodgson would drop Rooney if his form dipped.

What Paul Scholes really said:

"Wayne was in the Everton team at 16 years of age, in 2003. Since then he's played at Euro 2004, two World Cups, Premier League, and Champions League every year at United.

"There's a chance he's worn out. Wayne's peak may have been a lot younger than what we'd expect of footballers traditionally. Age 28 or 29 has been the normal 'peak'. With Wayne, it could have been when he scored 27 league goals in 2011/2012 when he was 26.

"I'm not saying Wayne needs to be dropped but if form doesn't get up to scratch in the warm-ups, or in the first game of the World Cup, it'll be interesting to see if the England management team has the balls to make that decision."

Source: Paddy Power

Speaking at a press conference in the wake of England's 2-2 draw with Ecuador, a game in which Rooney scored his 39th goal for his country, the Three Lions' fifth-highest goalscorer of all time said he was more concerned with what Hodgson thought than Scholes.

"I've seen a lot of you saying he's coached me and been around the team, but he hasn't. I'm not really going to react," he added.

"I'm not really interested in what anyone else has got to say. I'm interested in what Roy Hodgson, the coaching staff here and the people around me say. People have their opinions but I don't agree with them."

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