Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has said that he would be open towards returning to England national team. The 31-year-old midfielder has been in self-imposed exile from the national team.
The former Tottenham midfielder has attributed the lack of importance given to him by a number of the previous managers like Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson as the reason for his self-imposed exile. However, with only a few more years of top-level football left in him, Michael Carrick is ready to consider a return to the international fold. After suffering a dip in form in the last few years, Carrick seems to be back to his best.
Even though he was unable to prevent Manchester United from being unable to win in a major trophy last season, Sir Alex Ferguson recently praised the importance of Michael Carrick to the team. A number of midfielders are ahead of him in the pecking order. The likes of Gareth Barry and Scott Parker have emerged as first-team regulars in the absence of Michael Carrick and the midfielder has said that it will be tough to regain a first-team spot. Roy Hodgson has also been heavily indicating that he will be using a very youthful team for the World Cup qualifiers.
"I've had no contact from Roy Hodgson, so it would be wrong of me at this stage to make a decision either way. But I would consider it, definitely. I didn't kick the door down and say: 'You've got to play me or I'll leave'. It wasn't a case of that at all. It was more that, if I wasn't going to play, I'd rather not go. During the World Cup I never featured and I was never really close to playing. That was a hard time. I just thought if it was going to be the same scenario again, I'd rather let someone else go in my place," said Michael Carrick.