Wayne Rooney has been ruled out of Manchester United’s Europa League game with Ajax tomorrow evening. Sir Alex Ferguson’s afternoon press conference revealed the striker has been struggling with a throat infection for a week and, with a 2-0 first leg advantage, will not be risked against the Dutch side.
Rumours were rife this morning of a possible absence- reports had indicated Rooney had missed training and have subsequently proven to be correct. United have since published details on their official site, with Ferguson going on to say:
Rooney’s out for tomorrow. He has a bad throat. There were traces of it in Amsterdam last Thursday and he’s been in bed for a lot of the weekend. He came in this morning for the first time. We’re trying hard to get him ready for Sunday [at Norwich].
With Dimitar Berbatov back in contention after recovering from a knock, the blow is slightly lessened for United but the news is a significant worry for Fantasy managers. Over 46,000 have transferred Rooney in this week prior to the champions’ trip to Norwich- only Demba Ba has been more popular.
Back-to-back braces against Chelsea and Liverpool have seen Rooney’s stock soar, with his price rising 0.2 over the last couple of gameweeks. With United’s schedule looking particularly enticing from gameweek 28 onwards, many have overlooked the likes of Sergio Aguero, despite home fixtures with Blackburn and Bolton up next for City.
While Ferguson hasn’t ruled him out for the visit to Carrow Road, Rooney’s owners will be anxiously awaiting the United manager’s regular Friday morning update, where more light will hopefully be shed on his chances of recovery. Any absence could mean a simple short-term switch to Aguero and, with Ba also afforded two home games – against Wolves and Sunderland- the alternatives are clearly enticing.
12 years, 8 months agoYawn indeed!