Wayne Rooney has admitted he owes a debt of gratitude to Fabio Capello for salvaging his Euro 2012 dream.

When a three-match ban was initially slapped on Rooney for kicking Miodrag Dzudovic in last October’s encounter with Montenegro, the Manchester United striker feared he would not get selected for this summer’s finals.

After all, he reasoned, should England fail to emerge from their group, he would have zero involvement.

It was Capello who insisted the Football Association should appeal on Rooney’s behalf, a stance that was proved correct when UEFA sliced a game off Rooney’s suspension.

So, the 26-year-old is free to tackle co-hosts Ukraine in Donetsk on Tuesday, when a draw will be enough to secure a quarter-final berth.

“Being honest, if it had stayed at a three-game ban I wouldn’t have expected to be here,” he said.

“I was delighted Capello fought so hard. We both went over to Switzerland, appealed it and got lucky to get it down to two games. He did (go out on a limb) and I am grateful for that.

“Basically, he said when we went out there if there’s one per cent of getting the ban down we have to try for it.”