Wayne Rooney will not consider retiring from international soccer despite being dropped from a competitive fixture for England for the first time in his career.

Jordan Henderson will take over the captaincy for England’s latest World Cup qualifier but Rooney maintains that he can still overtake Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps and did at least manage some gallows humour to a question about whether he might return in the next match. “Do you mean United or England?” Rooney asked.

“It is something which I have to go through,” Rooney said. “I am big enough to deal with it. I believe I can come back from this. I am 30 years of age. I am not 35 or 36 where you are thinking: ‘Can you get back from it?’ I will keep working and I have said before that I will not stop playing for England and start going to Dubai for a few days in the international break.

“After the summer it would have been easy for me to walk away and say: ‘That’s it, I’ve had enough,’ but that’s not me. I feel I have a lot to offer and I’ve made that clear [to Southgate], certainly until the World Cup in Russia. That’s what I want. I’m not suddenly going to turn round and say: ‘I’m not playing, I’m not going to turn up.’ I will turn up when called upon and be ready.

“Ryan Giggs at 30 wasn’t the same player he was at 18 and he played until he was 40. There’s lots of examples out there you can use – players re-evaluate and work out the best way to move forwards. I’m sure that will happen with me. I am not naive in terms of thinking that I am still a 20-year-old. I understand that. My game is different to that of a 20-year-old, but I also think I have qualities that can help move this team forward. I’m not denying it’s a difficult moment but I have to show the right attitude, try to be positive and make sure I am supportive of my team-mates.”