Wayne Rooney praises 'great friend' Darren Fletcher
The friendship between Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher will be put on hold for 90 minutes when they lead England and Scotland into battle at Celtic Park on Tuesday.
Having played alongside Fletcher for 11 years, Rooney has nothing but admiration for his Manchester United team-mate.
The England captain rates Fletcher highly as a player and he also has nothing but respects him for the way he battled back from a debilitating bowel disease to return to first-team action for club and country.
"It's incredible for him to be back playing and to be back in the Scotland team," said Rooney of Fletcher, who was missing for most of the 2011-12 and the 2012-13 seasons because of ulcerative colitis.
"It shows the character he is, the type of person he is.
"Obviously it was a hard moment for Darren and his family and he's come though that with flying colours.
"He doesn't miss a training session. He trains really hard, so I'm really pleased he's managed to come through. He's back fit and ready to play."
The Fletcher and Rooney families will share a box at Celtic Park on Tuesday night when England and Scotland meet for what is expected to be a passionate and competitive international.
Down on the pitch Rooney knows he will have to put his friendship with Fletcher to one side for the night.
"Obviously, we speak about the game and he's playing for Scotland and I'm playing for England," he said.
"We're great friends off the pitch, but for 90 minutes we're opponents."