Representing your country at any level of international football is always an honour; however, sometimes it may not be in a player’s best interest due to injury and can result in an argument.
This was the case for one current Wrexham player who was once the subject of an argument between former England manager Roy Hodgson and Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman.
The argument was more of a plea from Ronald Koeman looking for one of his stars not to represent England, as he had just recovered from a long-term injury.
However, the England boss was keen to bring him back into the national team squad, as he had been impressed previously with his ability and work rate.
Roy Hodgson in charge of England v San Marino
Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images
Jay Rodriguez at the centre of discussion between Roy Hodgson and Ronald Koeman
England were set to face San Marino and Switzerland in qualifiers for the 2016 Euros, a perfect opportunity to bed Jay Rodriguez back into the squad after a long lay-off with injury.
He had missed the 2014 World Cup due to an ACL injury, and so he would have loved the opportunity to represent England again; however, as reported by the Daily Mail, Koeman made it clear he should not be selected for England.
Jay Rodriguez for England
Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images
The Barcelona legend said: “For sure he will be an interesting player for the national squad, but don’t put too much pressure on Jay. It will come; it takes time. First concentrate on Southampton. If he is 100 per cent, then he will be one of the targets for the national team.
“In my opinion Sunday is too soon. I still take care of Jay a little bit. That’s one of the reasons that he is not playing or starting Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, or Sunday.
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“It takes time after so long a period outside the pitch and working hard to come back. He needs time to come back for the national team as well.”
Jay Rodriguez’s England career
At the time Rodriguez was in agreement with his club manager, as he said: “My fitness is feeling good. I’m getting stronger every week. The confidence was good with getting my first goal. I was disappointed not to score with a few other chances.
“At the moment, I’m just concentrating week by week to get as much match fitness and sharpness as I can and try and take confidence from each game.”
However, this may have impacted his England career, as he only ever made one appearance for the Three Lions, this coming ahead of the 2014 World Cup when he played in a friendly against Chile.
His international career did not recover after his injury, and now he is currently playing at the Red Dragons, but he is not registered to play in the Championship, meaning Wrexham are paying his wages without him playing any games, with money arguably being wasted by the club.