GARETH Southgate axed Wayne Rooney from his England squad — and ripped the armband off him.

Brutal Southgate also ruined Theo Walcott’s 28th birthday on Thursday by leaving him out of the games against Germany and Lithuania.

England’s boss Southgate said: “The captain is the person that is captain in the next game, isn’t it?

“The key for me is how we develop more leaders.

“I don’t think that he expects, if he is not playing every week for his club, to be picked. Wayne is very mature in this sort of discussion.”

Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck were also overlooked, but Jermain Defoe was handed a recall at 34 alongside fellow strikers Marcus Rashford, 19, and Jamie Vardy, 30.

Despite being left out, Rooney has been invited to Monday’s team meeting at St George’s Park.

Southgate said: “We’re going to have a meeting with all of the players about what we feel the next 18 months will look like. He’ll be part of that.”

On Walcott’s axing, Southgate added: “Theo wasn’t chuffed to get the call. The timing, on his birthday, wasn’t great.”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW FOR ROONEY?

Wayne Rooney finds himself dropped by England for the first time since his debut against Australia in 2003.

Fourteen years, 116 caps and record 53 goals later, the Manchester United skipper’s international career could be over.

The 31-year-old struggles to win a place in the United first team and now Gareth Southgate has axed him, too.

United manager Jose Mourinho has consistently left Rooney on his bench, while England fans vented their feelings when they booed him during last year’s 2-0 victory over tiny Malta.

The official view is that Rooney has a leg injury but almost in the same breath England boss Southgate added there was “a chance” Rooney would be fit for United’s weekend Premier League game against West Ham.

Hand on heart, though, Wayne is on the wane and may never pull an England shirt on again.

These things happen. Rooney himself was brought as a second half substitute for a fading Michael Owen on a chilly night at Upton Park when England suffered a humiliating first reverse to their Antipodean cousins.

Rooney’s fortunes would improve — winning his next six appearances with England and scoring his first goal in Macedonia later that year.

Now it seems it might have been a good idea for Rooney to have called it a day on himself after England’s shambolic performance under Roy Hodgson at Euro 2016.

Roo didn’t fire for his country last summer — in fact, he repeatedly failed to flourish in competitive international competitions.

The fact is Wayne has lost his edge and keeping him in the side will hold only England back ahead of the next World Cup.

Apart from that his inclusion will actually hinder the progress of younger talents by sticking around.

Were he playing every week and scoring goals it would be a different story. But he isn’t … and he doesn’t have the quality to be a top class international midfielder, either.

Rooney was just 16 when he made his Premier League with Everton and 18 when Sven Goran Eriksson first called him up he became the youngest player to play for England at 17 years and 111 days.

Since then there has been a bucketful of on field triumphs, and off the field controversies.

Rooney has won five Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup last year.

He also has a Champions League medal, won with United in 2007/08.

Last November Rooney famously apologised to Southgate for a 5am finish after drinking at a wedding reception at The Grove hotel in Watford rather than go to bed following England’s victory over Scotland.

The Three Lions ace was said to be slurring his words during a beer and wine bender in his England shirt.

Southgate threatened to strip him of the England captaincy then in what could undoubtedly seen as a forerunner to what’s happened now.

Said an England source at the time: “His powers have been on the wane for the last couple of years.

“He’s played a lot of football but not looking after yourself doesn’t help you.”

Maybe that night Roo was contemplating the end of his England career through the bottom of a bottle for guests claimed he was “not a pretty sight”.

Some may say the same goes for an England squad without his name in it ... but all good things must come to an end.

And, England-wise, they probably have.