England captain Wayne Rooney has "unreservedly" apologised to interim manager Gareth Southgate and Football Association technical director Dan Ashworth, admitting images taken of him over the weekend were "inappropriate for someone in his position".
The 31-year-old started the Three Lions' World Cup qualifying win against Scotland on Friday, but a minor knee injury saw him withdraw from the squad to face Spain.
Interim England boss Southgate was forced to deny after Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Spain that Rooney's absence was anything to do with images that emerged from The Grove hotel on Saturday night.
The Sun alleged that Rooney dropped in on a wedding party, with the paper printing a photo appearing to show the Manchester United forward, sporting an England training top, looking the worse for wear.
In a statement issued on Rooney's behalf to Press Association Sport on Wednesday evening, the player's spokesperson said: "Naturally Wayne is sorry that pictures taken with fans have been published today.
"Although it was a day off for the whole squad and staff, he fully recognises that the images are inappropriate for someone in his position.
"Earlier today Wayne spoke privately to both Gareth Southgate and Dan Ashworth to unreservedly apologise.
"He would like to further extend that apology to any young fans who have seen these pictures."
Source: PA-WIRE
