Jamie Vardy has told England manager Gareth Southgate he does not wish to be selected unless there is an injury crisis.

The 32-year-old has won 26 caps for his country but does not look like adding to that tally after telling the Guardian of his decision.

“To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while,” the Leicester man said to the newspaper.

“I’m not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup – we got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil.

“So I just said to Gareth that I think it’s probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football.”

Vardy added that while he is not making himself available for when Southgate names his first post-World Cup squad on Thursday, “we’ve not shut the door completely”, saying he would come back if “everyone was injured”.