'Always a huge honour': Wayne Rooney joins up with England squad ahead of farewell

Wayne Rooney is preparing for the "huge honour" of representing England once again after joining up with the England squad for the last time.

The 33-year-old will make a surprise return to international football almost two years on from his 119th cap as the Football Association honour the Three Lions' leading all-time goalscorer.

Rooney will play some part of Thursday's friendly against the United States - a match officially known as the Wayne Rooney Foundation International - with manager Gareth Southgate revealing last week the DC United forward would come off the bench at Wembley.

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Rooney tweeted: "Looking forward to meeting up with the @England squad later today, always a huge honour. An exciting week for @FoundationWR!"

His return has split opinion but Southgate insists he was always behind the idea of respecting Rooney's England career - with the former captain then dropping out of the squad ahead of Sunday's Nations League meeting with Croatia.