Rooney boost for United: Striker may be back in a fortnight

Rooney9 SG

On the threshold of greatness: Wayne Rooney. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

In a Dublin bar they were showing Wayne Rooney dazzling Milan on a big screen at one end and Cristiano Ronaldo going out of the Champions League at the other. As they rubber‑necked to watch both spectacles, some of those drinkers looked as if they had seen a few alehouse visions of heaven and hell in their time.

But these competing pictures glowed with revelatory force. If you had stopped the football carousel for five minutes on Wednesday night you might have said that Ronaldo screwed up by joining the new Hollywood studio that is Real Madrid and that Rooney has come of age in his absence. Another insistent thought took hold: Wazza is infinitely more influential than Gazza in elite competition and is surely the most potent English footballer since Bobby Charlton.

This is a logic game, not one born of superficiality and giddiness. To think it wrong to say that Rooney is the best since the embodiment of the English game around the world you would need to propose a credible alternative. Running through the lists since 1966, I picked out a few contenders: Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson, John Barnes, Glenn Hoddle, Alan Shearer, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Gascoigne, a comet who troubled the firmament at one international tournament (Italia 90) and is over‑venerated for his goal against Scotland at Euro 96, when he was already clinging to the wreckage of his talent. Gascoigne's club career, meanwhile, featured a year or so of reckless brilliance at Tottenham Hotspur, then ever-decreasing circles at Lazio and all points beyond.

To think: people wrote earnest columns about Rooney's potential for Gazza-esque burn-out whenever he picked up half a lager in an Alderley Edge bar or swore at a referee. There is another dissertation to be written about Rooney and social mobility: how he was cast in his early days as a street thug who had wriggled through the economic cordons of our inner cities to present himself as the butt of middle‑class jokes. Germaine Greer, remember, said he had a face like a clenched fist: a line much repeated, no doubt, by the sort of football arrivistes parodied so well by Paul Whitehouse.

Rooney has transcended bourgeois condescension to exemplify many of the attributes that we think we have as a nation but do not really. Innate talent, a compulsion to improve one's lot and complete selflessness are qualities found in those excruciating speeches Gordon Brown likes to make about British characteristics. You don't get these attributes from a passport. The wonder of Rooney is that there is not a professor in the land who can explain why one lad from a large family is blessed with the talent and the appetite to chew the best opponents up and spit them out at the very top of a hard profession.

On that scroll of candidates for the title of best-since-Charlton there are several who could win games on their own through force of hunger or ability. How many matches has Lampard shaped for Chelsea? Was Robson not Roy Keane but with greater attacking prowess? No English player since Charlton, though, has had such a transformative effect on club and country as Rooney has this year. England's greatest go bald early and bestride Old Trafford: that's just the way it is.

The nature of the man is endlessly intriguing. Gary Neville told in these pages last week how Rooney craved the arrival of England's game against France at Euro 2004. The boy wonder was supposed to be petrified. Neville thought it "strange" that hellfire burned in his young colleague's eyes. He knows, now, why the flames danced. Rooney's brand of conviction cannot be bought in JJB Sports.

Neville also says: "There aren't many players who can play on their own up front and be successful. Rooney is one, [Didier] Drogba is another. Louis Saha does it very well. Other players need a foil." Thrust into a supposedly lonely role, Rooney has struck 30 times in all competitions and could surpass Ronaldo's 42 goals from two seasons ago if United play 14 mores games and he appears in them all.

The PFA and Football Writers' Association player of the year awards are such a formality that the vote counters may as well take this year off. And those Iberia-based princes, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, must be feeling Croxteth's breath on their neck in next year's Fifa world player poll.

Charlton scored 49 times for England (Rooney is halfway there, on 25) and has 1966 to preserve his international lustre. He has also served as the English game's symbol and elder statesman for longer than Rooney has been alive. There is no cause yet to chip away at his statue. Sore knees could yet slow the whirlwind's progress through this first post-Ronaldo campaign and there remains the remote possibility that he could feel sated by his late twenties.

But this is a burnished figure in world football: a self-made master of the physical and psychological arts. The country is mesmerised. Tribalism is on hold.

Rooney9 SG

Wayne Rooney has struggled for goals against teams from his home city. Photograph: Tom Jenkins.

Wayne Rooney is fast becoming the irresistible choice for footballer of the year. He already has 32 goals for the season and anyone who wants to pick holes in him should do so knowing he did not get to the top of his profession without having the ability to swat away criticism in the way the rest of us deal with a troublesome fly. But there is still one anomaly when it comes to recognising him as the "complete striker" – and it is nothing to do with the argument about what he can or cannot do with his left foot.

The statistics of Rooney's career are so impressive it is worth a double-take that the man who is already over halfway towards Sir Bobby Charlton's scoring record for England has gone 15 hours and 50 minutes of match-time without finding the net in his games for Manchester United against Liverpool.

In total there have been 11 and Rooney has scored once, going all the way back to January 2005 and a 1-0 win at Anfield in which, true to form, he celebrated directly in front of the Kop. That was his first experience of this famous sporting enmity but in the next 10 games the recurring theme has been of a player struggling to make an impact, drifting in and out of the action and, at times, allowing the opposition fans' hostility to affect him.

Is it coincidence or something more deep-rooted? Rooney is not the golden boy of English football by default and there is inevitably a temptation to dismiss his modest record against Liverpool as a glitch. But then you look at his figures against Everton and a pattern starts to emerge, one that has not escaped the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson. Rooney has one goal in nine appearances against the club where he began his career and, as Liverpool visit Old Trafford tomorrow, the question is this: why does the footballer who is doing more than anyone to steer United towards a fourth successive league title struggle against the Merseyside teams?

Ferguson, for one, does not believe it is a quirk of numbers and was sufficiently concerned to contemplate leaving out Rooney when his team went to Anfield last October. In the end he trusted in his player but Liverpool won 2-0 and, once again, Rooney spent long spells on the edges of the game. Rooney's allegiances are no secret – "I grew up as an Everton fan hating Liverpool," he declared last season, "and that hasn't changed" – but there is a sense at Old Trafford that he can be his own worst enemy when it comes to playing the Merseyside teams, Liverpool in particular.

The issue has been discussed behind the scenes at Old Trafford, where Ferguson has voiced concerns that his most penetrative player may be getting too wrapped up in all the different emotions that come from playing against teams from the city where he grew up and his huge and possibly distractive desire both to inflict a little bit of misery on Liverpool and to show the Everton supporters who now revile him what they are missing.

The encouraging part for United is that, five months since losing at Anfield, Rooney is a different player, revelling in the most prolific form of his life and scoring so regularly you would not bet against him doing away with the notion that Liverpool are threatening to become his bogey club, just as Cristiano Ronaldo successfully dealt with the criticism levelled at him over several seasons that he never turned it on in the big matches.

But when it comes to Rooney being on the same pitch as Fernando Torres the Spaniard is ahead by some distance. Ferguson once told a room of football writers that he had abandoned trying to sign Torres from Atlético Madrid after deciding he was "not composed enough in front of goal", which will have to be remembered as one of his least distinguished judgments. Torres has scored in his last two games against United and single-handedly consigned Nemanja Vidic's candidacy for footballer of the year to the dustbin when Rafael Benítez's team won 4-1 at Old Trafford last season.

The ordeal was so great for Vidic he has never fully recovered. Torres had unmasked the Serb's weakness: that he is prone to getting too close behind attackers and susceptible if they spin off at pace. Gabriel Agbonlahor, of Aston Villa, has also shown how it can be done and that, when he is caught out, Vidic has a tendency to bring down opponents, as was evident in the Carling Cup final.

As yet Rooney has not caused Liverpool's defenders anything like the suffering to which Torres has subjected Vidic. Taking into account his time at Everton, his overall record against the Anfield club is one goal in 15 games. Rooney might be having the season of a lifetime but, for once, he might not be the most feared striker on the pitch at Old Trafford tomorrow.

Rooney9 SG

Wayne Rooney is helped from the pitch after suffering an ankle injury

Sir Alex Ferguson has said Manchester United will be forced to "wait and see" regarding the severity of an ankle injury sustained by Wayne Rooney on Tuesday night.

Rooney appeared to turn over on his right ankle in the build-up to Bayern Munich's injury-time goal which gave the German side a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Rooney has been in consistently destructive form in recent months, and scored his 34th goal of the season inside 64 seconds at the Allianz Arena, so news of a fitness concern is a real worry for United and England.

The striker, who left the stadium on crutches and with a protective boot in place, had to be helped from the pitch after going down in pain and Ferguson is unsure whether Rooney will be fit to play in a critical match against title rivals Chelsea at the weekend.

"He's obviously hurt his ankle," he said. "We'll know better tomorrow. It's too early to say. I don't think it's terribly serious, but we'll wait and see."

Asked if he could feature against Chelsea on Saturday, Ferguson added: "I can't answer that, we need to wait until tomorrow."

Rooney9 SG

Rooney's injury pain adds to litany of late-season calamities

Lothar Matthäus once joked that football is a simple game: 22 men run around for 90 minutes, he said, and then the Germans win. Manchester United turned this gag on its head in the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona and last night Bayern Munich turned it the right way up again at English football's expense.

A winning German goal in added-time – and an Englishman jack-knifed on the floor. Not any old John Smith, but Wayne Rooney, United's greatest weapon and England's best hope of ending a 44-year wait to reach a second World Cup final. Eleven years ago it was Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with the late fireworks and Bayern Munich players on the deck slapping the grass. For Germany's most illustrious club this 2-1 quarter-final first-leg victory produced the perfect transposition of that melodramatic night at Camp Nou.

A measure of Rooney's importance to club and country is that this potentially terminal defeat for England's champions was far less haunting than the spectacle of the shoo-in footballer of the year jumping like an electrocuted cat as his feet became entangled with those of Mario Gómez in the move that led to Ivica Olic's winner when the clock had passed 90 minutes.

Students of metatarsal breaks and will-he-won't-he-sagas were quick to add Rooney's pained reaction to the file of late-season calamities endured by senior England players. It took some of us back to an April day at Stamford Bridge in 2006 when the little terror pulled up lame in a United shirt and left the ground in tears. This time, he hobbled for a few paces before crumpling to the turf. After Olic had delivered his coup de grâce, Rooney was shoulder-carried from the field and tried unsuccessfully to plant his right foot before being lifted down the tunnel.

The nation was gripped by foreboding. Surely not another vigil outside a physio's room? The lord spare us from another rushed recovery and an umpteenth listless talisman not being quite himself in a big World Cup tie. But there are domestic implications first. Unless Rooney was in some kind of physical shock that will have passed by morning, the eye says he will miss Saturday's Premier League smash-up with Chelsea at Old Trafford, a loss which could influence the direction of the title.

"I don't think it's terribly serious but we'll wait and see," Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager said, while praising Edwin van der Sar in the United goal for "keeping us in the game". Ferguson's diagnosis was that United surrendered possession too often to preserve their lead, secured after 1min 7secs through Rooney's close-in finish from a Nani free-kick. Next: another molten night back in Manchester, where United's love of adversity will be stretched to its limit by the pursuit of a win to prove that their profligacy with the ball in Bavaria was an aberration.

Ferguson's pre-match ruminations were right: on these nights you face not only the 11 opponents but the club itself, the history, the crowd's energy. There would be no point chopping away at the hard rock of success for decades unless accumulated spirit and knowledge made it hard for visitors to such an intimidating stadium.

To assume this Bayern team were motivated by an urge to avenge United's astonishing comeback in 1999 would be to buy into convenient hype. Yet a feature of football's biggest names is that great victories and painful defeats seep into the psyche and resurface through whichever players happen to wear the shirt. It might have been coincidence, of course, but revenge archivists were entitled to place Olic's late flourish in the book of settled scores.

Except that this is only the quarter-final stage. United's riposte won them the Champions League. To do so for a third time in the Ferguson era they need Rooney's brand of havoc. United have won important games this season without their leading scorer and spiritual leader but each game now will require that special ingredient, that extra application, which Rooney brings. They need ball retention and strong defending, too.

An overlooked truth about Ferguson's long reign at Old Trafford is that his best United sides have been built around strong centre-half partnerships. The eye drifts naturally to Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo or Rooney and away from the blanket throwers at the back. Starters, not stoppers, are the darlings of the Old Trafford crowd.

But from Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce to Jaap Stam and Ronny Johnsen and Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, United's defensive pairings have sacrificed themselves for art.

It was a wonder, then, that the team began an eight-day grapple with Bayern and Chelsea in such a potent state given that this encounter was only the 11th time this season that Vidic and Ferdinand have started together. In the most searching trials they still lack battle-hardness. The two defensive guardians are still groping for consistent speed of limb and thought.

Matthäus, who was referring to England-Germany games, was right about club football, too, 11 years late. Next week United must flip the joke again: maybe without Rooney, their destroyer.

Rooney9 SG

Van der Sar: United can cope without Rooney

Edwin van der Sar insists Manchester United can win without Wayne Rooney as Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello wait anxiously to discover the extent of the striker's ankle injury.

Rooney limped off after appearing to go over on his ankle in the final minute of United's 2-1 Champoions League quarter-final first leg defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday and left the Allianz Arena on crutches, with a protective boot on his right foot.

Early indications are that Rooney has suffered a sprain, which Ferguson claimed in the immediate aftermath of the game he hoped was "not too serious''.

Yet even in the best-case scenario, it seems highly improbable Rooney will be fit for Saturday's Premier League showdown with Chelsea at Old Trafford, or the return against Bayern four days later which is a must-win game following Ivica Olic's injury-time winner.

It is an unpalatable thought for most United fans, given Rooney took his goals tally to 34 when he opened the scoring after just 64 seconds and has undoubtedly been the Old Trafford club's talisman this season.

Yet Van der Sar, whose man-of-the-match display ensured United do still have hope of reaching the semi-finals after a poor performance, insists they can cope.

"Against Bolton we also played with some other players,'' Van der Sar said. "It can happen in the season. You always want your best players available but we know the players coming in can also do a good job.''

In the short-term, Ferguson is expected to use Dimitar Berbatov at the head of his strike-force, as he did at Bolton on Saturday and Wolves a couple of weeks earlier, and retain the same formation that has proved so successful this season.

Should Rooney's injury stretch on into an absence of weeks, with Michael Owen and Danny Welbeck already out with calf and knee injuries, Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf, neither of whom have been tested at the highest level and did not even make the bench last night, are United's only striking alternatives.

Ferguson does have the option of deploying Ryan Giggs in a more advanced role, whilst Nani, Park Ji-sung and Antonio Valencia have good attacking instincts. However, none of the latter three have been used as a senior striker, in the manner Cristiano Ronaldo became last term.

The great fear for Rooney is that any sprain could force him onto the sidelines for a period far longer than just a couple of games, but United will wait for results of a scan before they can place their own timescale on the situation.

United have six games of the domestic campaign remaining, after which it will be another three-and-a-half before Rooney is expected on the plane that takes England to the World Cup.

What happens in South Africa is a secondary concern to Ferguson this morning though, as he prepares for life - for however brief a time - without his talisman.

Rooney9 SG

Wayne Rooney will be out for two to four weeks with the sprained ankle he sustained during Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final tie yesterday, Sky Sports News have reported.

The striker had to be carried off the pitch moments before full-time after an accidental collision with the Bayern striker Mario Gómez. He left the Allianz Arena on crutches with his injured right foot in a protective boot prior to having a hospital scan back in Manchester.

There were fears that Rooney may have suffered a fracture of his ligaments, an injury that could have sidelined him for months and possibly put his participation in this summer's World Cup in jeopardy.

However, it appears that the injury may not be too serious, although he will almost certainly miss United's crucial match with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday and the return with Bayern, at the same ground, next Wednesday.

Edwin van der Sar, whose man-of-the-match display ensured United do still have hope of reaching the semi-finals after a poor performance, insists they can cope without Rooney. "Against Bolton we also played with some other players," he said.

"It can happen in the season. You always want your best players available but we know the players coming in can also do a good job."

can forget about CL and BPL 4th title in a row liao lar. chelsea and bayern must be smiling now, as Rooney will be out of the crunch sat match against chelsea and next week return leg at Old Trafford. united worst fears have been realised.

Rooney9 SG

Sprained ankle rules Rooney out for up to four weeks

Wayne Rooney is expected to be out for two to four weeks after spraining his ankle in the closing moments of Manchester United's 2-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern Munich.

Rooney turned over on his right ankle in the build-up to Bayern Munich's injury-time goal and the England striker now faces up to a month on the sidelines, though he will face a scan to discover the extent of the injury.

He is certain to miss league matches against Chelsea and Blackburn, as well as the second leg against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford next week.

But depending on Rooney's period of rehabilitation, he could miss the home clash with Spurs, the Manchester derby against Roberto Mancini's Manchester City and both legs of the Champions League semi-final should United overcome their first leg deficit.

Rooney is United's leading goalscorer this season with 34 goals, almost three times as many as second highest scorer Dimitar Berbatov, and Sir Alex Ferguson will now be heavily reliant on the Bulgarian striker to lead United's line - with youngsters Mame Biram Diouf and Federico Macheda the club's only other forward options.

Rooney9 SG

not only will Rooney can't overtake Ronaldo 42 goals, but his injury at this stage of the season, may derail United aspirations of winning both the BPL and CL. we may have the answer if united will retain their BPL after saturday match against chelsea. if united loses, then it will be more likely chelsea will win the BPL title. as for the return leg against Bayern, I think United can overturn the 1 goal deficit and win by a few goals. that said, I may be too optimistic.

TTFU SG

No rooney no man u, discuss

Rooney9 SG

No rooney no man u, discuss

die liao lor. no hope of winning CL and BPL title, chio bu.

TTFU SG

grandmaster89 SG

I am not too worried since we have a world class striker in the mould of Berbatov. He has returned to good forum recently and the game against Bolton was a joy to watch with his vision and passing ability. I believe Berbatov is the 3rd best striker in the EPL - just behind Rooney and Drogba. Definitely better than Anelka - no idea why people hype him up haha.

I am more worried about the midfield. Even if we played with 2 Rooney upfront, we would have lose against BM since we couldn't retain possession and pass the balls to the striker. Hargreaves would be perfect but sadly he is out. Personally I will stick to the midfield trio of Scholes, Flecther and Park with Nani and Valencia on the wings. I dropped Carrick because while his passing and positioning is top-par, against a fast-pace frantic game, we need harassers rather than passers. 1 Passer and 2 Harasser who can also provide surging runs will be ideal.

Rooney9 SG

Wayne Rooney has scored 34 goals in all competitions this season

Manchester United have announced Wayne Rooney has suffered "minor ligament damage" but the club have not disclosed how long the striker will be missing for as a result of the ankle injury suffered against Bayern Munich.

Tuesday witnessed worrying scenes for club and country in Munich as Rooney turned over on his ankle in injury time of the club's 2-1 defeat and left the Allianz Arena on crutches and in a protective boot.

Estimations of Rooney's likely absence have ranged from two to six weeks, but Sir Alex Ferguson will deliver his verdict on the recpueration period needed in his weekly press conference on Friday.

For now, following scans, the club have only confirmed that Rooney, who has scored 34 goals in all competitions this season, has not suffered a break.

"We're pleased to report that Wayne has not suffered a fracture," a club spokesman said. "The scan revealed only minor ligament damage."

It is expected that Rooney's injury will not impact on his chances of featuring at the World Cup finals, but he will certainly miss an important game against Chelsea at the weekend.

Rooney is also expected to sit out the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern and possibly the first leg of the semi-final, should United qualify.

zocoss SG

Hobbling on: Rooney

Manchester United were handed a massive boost yesterday after it emerged that Wayne Rooney could be back in action within two weeks.

United confirmed the ankle injury Rooney suffered in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final defeat by Bayern Munich is only minor ligament damage, and the club's medical staff have been encouraged by the early stages of his recovery.

The England striker was able to walk without a protective boot around his injured right ankle or the use of crutches as he continued to undergo intensive treatment at United's Carrington training base.

While suggestions he could be back as early as Wednesday's second leg against Bayern at Old Trafford would appear to be rather optimistic, his progress will come as a massive relief to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

A club statement read: 'We're pleased to report that Wayne has not suffered a fracture. The scan revealed only minor ligament damage.'

Although Rooney will miss the Premier League games against Chelsea and Blackburn, it means he could play in the derby at Manchester City two weeks tomorrow, and the Champions League semifinal first leg four days later if United can beat Bayern without him.

Walking wounded: Wayne Rooney leaves the Allianz Arena on crutches

That will be very difficult according to Argentina defender Martin Demichelis, who marked Rooney in Munich and believes United will not be the same with Dimitar Berbatov in attack.

'I know Berbatov is really dangerous but he is not a genius like Rooney,' said Demichelis. 'That is an advantage for us because stopping Rooney requires more concentration from defenders than other strikers.

'I think United will suffer on Wednesday and it will be Bayern who go through to the semi-finals.' Meanwhile, defender Fabio Da Silva has signed a new contract at Old Trafford until 2014.

Moment of impact: Mario Gomez treads on the foot of Wayne Rooney