Roy Hodgson leaves door open for Steven Gerrard to play at Euro 2016

Roy Hodgson does not believe that Steven Gerrard will have to call time on his international career after this summer’s World Cup.

Gerrard turns 34 in May and the England skipper, who has 108 caps, has previously stated that he would wait for the conclusion of the tournament in Brazil before deciding on his international future.

Should Gerrard choose to continue playing for England, Hodgson explained that he would definitely consider using the midfielder in his plans.

He said: “I don’t know if he necessarily couldn’t [play beyond the World Cup]. He will be 34 in May so he will be getting on for 36 [by the start of Euro 2016], so I think a lot will depend on him and how he feels, and depend on how he is playing. At the moment there has been no slowing down in his play.

“Who knows what the future will bring. I don’t have a strong feeling one way or another. Time will tell.”

The England boss also elaborated on the deeper position Gerrard now occupies in the Liverpool midfield, a role that has limited his offensive duties this term.

But Hodgson was full of praise for Gerrard’s versatile abilities.

He said: “He has played that [deeper] role for Liverpool and for us as well in one or two games and it went well.

“These days, teams have a degree of fluidity so, even though [Liverpool] may start him deeper with Coutinho and [Jordan] Henderson further forward, in reality Steven still gets forward and Henderson drops in.

“So I think a player like Steven, who is such an all-round player, will give you good attacking work and good defending work. Whether that spares him running or not, I don’t know. Sometimes you think he is not doing as much there but you might be surprised.”