Thierry Henry has urged England 's rising stars to make the most of their time with Wayne Rooney before he calls it a day . Henry has hailed Rooney as one of the greats of the game with the 29-year-old England captain just two goals from equalling Sir Bobby Charlton 's record of 49 goals for his country . And the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker insists that young players like Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling must not waste their training sessions alongside Rooney . Thierry Henry ( right ) and Wayne Rooney pictured alongside each other during a Premier League match in 2002 . Wayne Rooney celebrates his 47th goal for England against Lithuania on Friday night . Henry wrote in The Sun : 'You will only truly appreciate Rooney when he has retired . It 's a shame but it 's always like hat . ' I would absolutely urge all those youngsters in the squad , such as Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane , to watch and learn off Rooney from this day onwards . 'They are extremely lucky to be on the same training pitch as this guy and they must make the most of it . It will be a real waste if they do not . 'They must try to copy him . In terms of his dedication and the way he plays . I would also say this to the young lads at Manchester United . Rooney heads in the opening goal past Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis at Wembley . Rooney heads the ball past Arlauskis to give England the lead in Friday 's Euro 2016 qualifier . 'To play well for six months or a season in football is nothing . To do so for over a decade like Rooney is extraordinary . I know what it takes and it is n't easy . 'Trust me , people talk about him outside of this country . In Spain and France , he is appreciated as a top , top player . ' Meanwhile , Rooney has admitted that the excitement generated by Kane , who scored just 79 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 4-0 win over Lithuania , reminds him of his early games for England at the age of 17 . Rooney was a teenage sensation for England twelve years ago and caused even more of a stir when he starred in England ’ s 2-0 win over Turkey in 2003 . Rooney said : ‘ There was one stage in the game , after his [ Kane 's ] goal , where he ran down the left and took a few players on which reminded me of that . Tottenham striker Harry Kane celebrates scoring his first goal for England on his debut . Kane ( left ) headed in England 's fourth against Lithuania shortly after replacing England captain Rooney . Wayne Rooney ( right ) praised Harry Kane 's immediate impact for England against Lithuania . ‘ But he will tell you himself he still has a lot to learn but at the minute he is scoring goals left right and centre and it is great for us as a nation to have that excitement around us . ‘ It 's incredible really . You can feel the excitement around the country . You could tell when he came on everyone wanted him to come on and even he himself did n't think he 'd score so quick , but we are all delighted for him . 'He 's an exciting player . When you speak to him you can see he is a level headed guy and I am sure he has good people around him so will be able to cope with it . Rooney starred on his England debut against Turkey in 2003 , at the age of 17 . Rooney ( centre ) said Kane 's debut reminded him of his early games for his country . ‘ There are things I could say to advise him but I think there are things you have to learn on your own , which I am sure he will do in the next year or two . 'He is obviously a little bit older than I was and a bit wiser as I was 16 or 17 when I came in . But he is level headed and can cope . ‘ I think people try to help you but it is best to learn on your own . When you are a young lad you do make mistakes and you have to learn from them because it will make you a better player . ’
HenryThierry Henry says England 's rising stars must learn from Wayne Rooney . Rooney is just two goals short of Sir Bobby Charlton 's goalscoring record . Thierry Henry has hailed the England captain as one of the greats of the game .