Boredom will be Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney's biggest enemy, according to former United player Roy Keane.

Rooney will not be available for the first two matches of England's Euro 2012 campaign after the striker was suspended for kicking at Miodrag Dzudovic during a 2-2 draw with Montenegro in October.

"English and Irish players are the same," Keane was quoted in the Daily Star. "I don't think we are good at hanging around hotels and training camps in the middle of nowhere.

The European Championships is scheduled to be held in Poland and Ukraine.

"I have experienced that myself as a player, at club level as well, when you go away pre-season for a couple of weeks." Keane who quit the Republic of Ireland squad in the 2002 World Cup said.

"I think the biggest problem Wayne will have is the boredom, mentally trying to prepare for a game. But, he will be fresh and will give England something a bit different. Unless England win their first two matches, I imagine he will get straight into the team.

"As you get older, you might be married and have kids, but Wayne is still young, he is pretty active, mentally. Roy Hodgson will have to manage that, get the balance right on what he does on the training pitch right.

England play Norway and Belgium in friendly games before taking on France in the opener on June 9.

"If he is not playing in the first couple of games, I don't expect him to play in the friendlies," Keane said. "So Wayne could go into his first game having not kicked a ball for four or five weeks.

"There are plusses and minuses, sometimes players come back fresh, but it is not as if Wayne can feel his way into the tournament. It's 'you have to produce today'. As good as a player he is, that is difficult.

Keane does not believe England will win the Euros. "You would expect them to get out of the group; I just don't expect them to win it. England have good players, but I expect them to come up short again, like they have in the past."