Wayne Rooney is set to be assessed by Football Association Doctors today following the revelation that the striker has been carrying a problem with his knee for several weeks.
Alex Ferguson revealed the concerns after the striker had won the Carling Cup for United with his 29th goal of the season. Another header from another Valencia assist.
“He’s been playing with a bit of that [a swollen knee] for a few weeks and he’s holding it a bit tonight. He got a whack right away and I thought I’d have to take him off but he wanted to stay on…The doctors are assessing [his knee] at the moment. I don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t know what England are going to do.”
Rooney was surprisingly left on the bench for yesterday’s final. As it turned out, this was not a result of the niggling knee injury, but part of Ferguson’s plan going into United’s packed run of fixtures. Rooney was laid low with a virus earlier this week – compounding his fate as a Wembley benchwarmer…
“I knew on Wednesday or Thursday I wouldn’t be playing. I had a little bit of a stomach bug and the manager was looking for an excuse to leave me out. When he found out about that, it made his mind up. I was disappointed but the boss was correct.”
England take on Egypt on Wednesday and while it is reported that Rooney is unlikely to be withdrawn from the squad, it is suggested that Capello will be asked by Ferguson to rest the striker. It would be cynical to suggest that Ferguson’s statement on the injury was timed to justify such a request, but it has to be said that Rooney has shown little sign of a carrying a knock in recent weeks. It has to be said that having started him in home games against Portsmouth and West Ham – Ferguson is now scratching round for opportunities to preserve Rooney’s fitness.
Is Rooney a doubt for United’s weekend trip to Wolves? Technically yes. Rooney has to be considered a minor concern given the declaration of the injury but the smart money suggests that he will be handed a rest by England this week and the opportunity to continue his hugely impressive United form at Molineux – a fixture which Ferguson describes as a “massive game”.
Like Capello and United, we can only wait on news from the Docs.