Welbeck has no regrets over choosing England

England forward Danny Welbeck insists he has made the right decision in choosing to play for his country of birth as opposed to Ghana.

The 21-year old has represented the Three Lions at youth level since he was just 14 but qualified to represent the Black Stars through his Ghanaian-born parents.

However, he said it was only ‘natural’ to opt for England as he gets ready for the first major international tournament of his career at Euro 2012.

“It (the chance to play for Ghana) was basically when I was 14. But I’d been playing for England at Under-16s so felt it was a natural progression to move up into the senior squad,” Welbeck told reporters.

“I played for England at Under-16s, 17s, 18s, 19s, 21s and it was so natural for me to make that move into the senior squad and I was delighted when I did that.

“To get that first goal for England is something I’ve been looking forward to since I was a little kid.

“I’m looking to build on that and get more goals under my belt and more caps as well.”

However, despite grabbing the headlines with a cool finish to ensure England triumphed in their final warm-up game ahead of Euro 2012 at home to Belgium, Welbeck feared he could have been ruled out of the competition through injury.

Welbeck suffered an ankle injury during Manchester United’s defeat to eventual Premier League champions Manchester City at the end of last season and admitted he did not know how serious it was.

“At times I was thinking ‘maybe I won’t be able to make it’ but I’m glad the manager (Roy Hodgson) kept faith in me and I was always ready to go once I was called upon,” he said.

“When I suffered the injury against City, I did initially fear the worst. That night I went home and all sorts of emotions went through my head.

“I didn’t know what was happening until I had the scan in the morning. At that point, it was very disheartening but luckily I’ve come back from that and it wasn’t as bad as I first feared.”

Although Welbeck struggled with injury in the build-up to the tournament, he is hopeful of being 100 percent fit when England take on France in their opening game in Donetsk.

“The match fitness is definitely coming along. I’ve had a few training sessions under my belt and had 55 minutes against Belgium,” he said.

“It’s coming along and I’m just really looking forward to building on that before the first game next week.”

After taking on Les Bleus, Hodgson’s men will face Sweden on June 15 and Ukraine four days later.