Jermain Defoe fears a lack of regular first-team football at Bournemouth will cost him the chance of making Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the 2018 World Cup, reports The Daily Mirror.
The 35-year-old left Sunderland to join Bournemouth over the summer to stay in the Premier League in an attempt to bolster his claim to make the plane for Russia in the summer.
However, things haven’t gone according to plan for Defoe, who has failed to nail down a regular starting role, and now the veteran striker is worried it may come at a cost to his position in the England squad.
Defoe has been named in each of the last four England squads but the veteran striker is still waiting to complete 90 minutes in the Premier League game this season.
With Callum Wilson also back in the reckoning at Dean Court, Defoe will find it even harder to nail down a regular starting berth after only managing one goal in six league starts for the Cherries thus far.
Southgate will name his England squad for friendlies against Germany and Brazil next month and Defoe is fearful he faces the chop with other English strikers starting to find the back of the net.
