Aston Villa star Heskey faces being rested at Wembley

Jun 9 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

EMILE Heskey faces the prospect of being rested by Fabio Capello at Wembley tomorrow night with his seesaw season nevertheless ending on a high.

A booking against Andorra would rule the 31-year-old out of the Croatia game in September and the Italian may not want to take unnecessary risks.

The Villa striker has become Capello’s talisman.

Never as prolific as he should be, his goal against Kazakhstan on Saturday was his first in a competitive game for England in seven years.

His seven goals in 53 caps for England is a pitiful return compared to Peter Crouch (15 in 33) and Wayne Rooney (22 in 51).

But he has become a key figure in England’s quest to reach South Africa, which is remarkable when you consider his three-year exile under Sven-Goran Eriksson until Steve McClaren brought him back for the 3-0 win against Israel in September 2007.

“I just carried on with my game,” said a relaxed Heskey yesterday.

“You’re going to feel harshly treated if the manager doesn’t explain to you why you’re not playing or why you’re not in the squad, or whatever.

“But he’s got how many players to choose from in the country? Can he go to every one, I don’t know?

“I gave away the free-kick against France but I went on to the field with instructions, I tried to go with what they said. I was told to play behind the front man, and that’s what I tried to do.