Wayne Rooney branded Trent Alexander-Arnold’s recent England omission as “mind-boggling” although the former Manchester United captain would start Reece James at right-back at the World Cup.

Alexander-Arnold was surprisingly left out of England’s squads to face Uruguay and Japan in March even though he is playing more this year for Real Madrid and first-choice James missed out due to injury.

Ben White was brought back into the fold from a self-imposed exile and started both friendlies, scoring against Uruguay, in Thomas Tuchel’s final squad before he selects his group for this summer’s World Cup.

“No disrespect to Ben White, I think he’s a really good player, but for him to be in the squad and play ahead of Trent, I find it mind-boggling,” Rooney, speaking on the BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show, said.

Alexander-Arnold has not featured for England since a second-half substitute appearance in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra 11 months ago.

He initially struggled after swapping Liverpool for Real last summer,…