Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy says he no longer wants to be considered for England duty and wishes to focus his time on his club career.
The 32-year-old, who featured at the World Cup in Russia, said he had spoken to England manager Gareth Southgate about his decision but remained available to help should the team face injury problems.
โTo be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while,โ Vardy told the Guardian.
โIโm not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup โ we got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil.
โSo I just said to Gareth that I think itโs probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football,โ he said.
Vardy was restricted to the bench for most of the World Cup in Russia and said his lack of playing time had influenced his decision.
โWhen you get selected, you want to be playing. If youโre playing week in, week out for your club, you want to be going to England to play as well. And if itโs not happening, then for me personally now itโs better to be at home, spending that time with my family and training with my club, preparing for the next game after the international break.
โI thought I could have helped a bit more if I had more minutes. You know that you can hurt opponents in certain ways, in the way you play. But it wasnโt to be. And you have to respect the managerโs decisions.โ
Vardy said he had expressed his intention to Southgate shortly after the World Cup and confirmed it in a recent phone calls.
โWeโve not shut the door completely. If the worst came to happen and everyone was injured, then obviously I wouldnโt say no,โ he said.
Chelsea central defender Gary Cahill has also announced his decision to take a โstep backโ from England duties after a similar conversation with Southgate.
The 32-year-old defender, who has won 61 England caps, has struggled to force his way into the first-team under manager Maurizio Sarri this season.
โI think itโs time that I take a step back now. Itโs the right moment to do that,โ Cahill said.
โIโve been hugely proud of what Iโve achieved, over 60 caps, Iโve captained my country on a few occasions, which has been a huge honour.
โAt the same time, in your football career you never want to shut a door completely and if Iโm ever needed, Iโm there.โ
