England forward excited by the potential of St. George's Park

Watch Wayne Rooney's full press conference below, courtesy of FATV

Wayne Rooney reckons the opening of St. George's Park is great news for the future of English football.

The Manchester United star has been using the facilities at The FA's National Football Centre along with the rest of Roy Hodgson's squad as they prepare for Friday's World Cup qualifier against San Marino.

And the 26-year-old admits he has been left hugely impressed with the new £105m complex in Burton upon Trent.

Rooney said: "It’s great. We've only been here a couple of days but the facilities, particularly the gym, the swimming pool and the training pitches are great.

"It’s great for the future of England. It’s not just available to the first team, it’s available to all the England age groups and the Women’s teams so it’s great for everyone."

Rooney is also pleased that the next generation will benefit from improved coaching methods based on The FA's Future Game philosophy, which aims to enhance players' technical development.

He added: "It’s good for the youth teams in particular because hopefully it can get a lot more young players playing the type of football they need to.

"They and the coaches have got the facilities now and hopefully the next ten years can be a great foundation for our younger players."

Rooney is expected to return to the England starting XI for Friday's match against San Marino after missing the World Cup qualifying games against Moldova and Ukraine through injury.

He said: "I missed the first two games and I’m delighted to be back in the squad and back amongst the lads. I’m ready to go now and hopefully we can get two good performances.

"I feel good, I’ve been working hard. I’m obviously happy to have a few games under my belt at club level and now I’m looking forward to getting back to playing for England.

"We knew Ukraine was going to be a difficult game and in the end it turned out to be a good point.

"Everyone is expecting us to win on Friday and it’s important we go out there and be professional, do our job and don’t take them lightly.

"Obviously we expect ourselves to win but we have to ensure we remain professional."

There are limited tickets left for Friday's game with San Marino. Click here for more details.