Wayne Rooney won’t play for Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
No shock there.
He hasn’t been included in the squad and the official line from United is that he’s not fit enough. But Rooney, 27, may well play for England at the same stadium on Wednesday night, as England face Scotland. The wantaway United striker has been training with the reserves, and despite missing a huge chunk of preseason through a “hamstring injury” he now seems to be on the mend.
However United claim Rooney suffered a shoulder injury in a behind closed doors friendly last weekend, and the England striker hasn’t been cleared for Sunday’s clash.
Yet Rooney did post a message on his Facebook page last night, thanking England manager Roy Hodgson for calling him up for the Three Lions friendly and stated that he’s looking forward to getting back to full fitness and featuring for England.
The plot thickens. United say he isn’t fit enough, Rooney claims he’s fit… Interesting.
Obviously Manchester United are standing firm and David Moyes doesn’t feel Rooney will be in the right frame of mind to feature against Wigan in the showpiece final on Sunday in London.
MORE: Wayne Rooney takes subtle dig on Facebook page against David Moyes)
The talented forward has been wanting to leave the Red Devils ever since the end of last season when he put in a transfer request. But United will not sell to Premier League rivals Chelsea, at any price, so a potential move has hit an impasse.
Rooney has now been away from the United squad for almost a month, after returning from their preseason tour of Thailand amid much speculation about his feature and a minor hamstring tear. In the last week Rooney has recovered but was left out of United’s friendly against AIK in Sweden and didn’t feature in Rio Ferdinand’s testimonial game on Friday night.
It was expected Rooney may make some kind of appearance as Moyes aims to lift his first piece of silverware as United manager, yet the Scot has stayed firm and refuses to pick Rooney whilst his head is elsewhere.
#RooneyWatch continues.
