Lithuania vs England: Injured Manchester United pair Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick ruled out

Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick will miss England's final European Championship qualifier against Lithuania on Tuesday [13 October] through injury, manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed. The Manchester United duo are among five absentees for the trip to Vilnius, with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill, Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart and Liverpool midfielder James Milner also out of the game.

Rooney continues to be hampered by an ankle problem while Carrick will also not travel after failing a fitness test on a groin injury on the eve of the 2-0 win over Estonia. Cahill is nursing a longstanding back issue and will not be risked, while Hart and Milner have been rested following their club exploits this term.

Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones and Jonjo Shelvey will all start the final qualifier in Lithuania, with England looking to becoming the sixth team in history to progress with a 100% win record. The news on the United duo to good for Louis van Gaal meanwhile, with both players expected to be fit for the trip to Everton upon the resumption of the Premier League season.

[Carrick] had a fitness test this morning," Hodgson explained after the ninth win from nine Euro 2016 qualifying games at Wembley, in a post-match press conference. "He missed the training session on Thursday because he felt his groin.

"He had a fitness test this morning, it went well to a point but he still feels it when he opens out his leg for the side foot pass. It wouldn't have been possible for him to play tonight, but whether it would have cleared up in a couple of days and given him a chance in Lithuania I suppose that is open to debate but there are other players I need to see in that game.

"From Michael's point of view and Manchester United's point of view the rest will do him good.I full expect to see both Michael and Wayne Rooney 100% fit for Louis van Gaal next Saturday."

The news was not so positive for Cahill however, who suffered a separate shoulder issue during the game before playing the full 90 minutes, who Hodgson has revealed has a long-term back problem which forces him out of the game. "Gary Cahill has to some extent, occasional back problems and we were a bit concerned with the flight and the artificial pitch," Hodgson said of the Chelsea centre-back "In the choice of taking him or Smalling alongside [Phil] Jagielka and [Phil] Jones I went for Chris Smalling."

Of the other selection decisions ahead of the game in Lithuania, he added: "Joe Hart is being left behind against his will because he is desperate to play because I need to see Jack Butland. [As for] James Milner, I wanted to play Jonjo Shelvey [against Lithuania] so I won't need James there. If anyone deserves a rest, not least because he has played so many games for Liverpool and taken on the captaincy and the rest will do him good and it is the right moment for Jonjo Shelvey to get a chance to show what he can do again."