Aston Villa forward Darren Bent has revealed Roy Hodgson has assured him his England career is not over.
The Villa goalscorer has been out of action for his club since sustaining an ankle injury in his side’s 0-0 draw at Wigan in February.
Despite his lack of game time, Bent had hoped to be fit in time for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
But Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck and former Tottenham team-mate Jermain Defoe were all chosen ahead of him.
However, Bent said Hodgson had informed him his international career was not over.
“Roy rang me and told me he couldn’t pick me for the Euros because I hadn’t played any games and so he couldn’t take the chance of taking me to a tournament,” he told reporters.
“I’ve had three phone calls now to tell me I wouldn’t be going to various tournaments but Roy’s was the best and he was understanding and really good with me on the phone.
“He said to me that I would be part of the qualifiers (for the 2014 World Cup). My aim now is to perform well for Villa next season and then hopefully I will be picked by England as well.”
Despite the 64-year-old’s assurances, Bent admitted the news of his omission had affected him.
“Training the next day after I found out was hard. The fitness guy at Villa even told me I looked a bit de-motivated,” Bent said.
“It was hard to take initially but now it’s about bouncing back and moving on.”
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