Sir Alex Ferguson has described the thigh injury which could sideline Wayne Rooney until October as a “blessing” and said that the Manchester United forward must use the lay-off to improve his fitness
Although the initial prognosis on Rooney’s injury – a badly gashed thigh sustained against Fulham last Saturday – suggested the 26 year-old could be sidelined for two months, the player could yet be available again within four weeks after scans ruled out serious muscle damage.
But having dropped Rooney to the substitutes’ bench for the game against Fulham, choosing instead to deploy £22 million new signing Robin van Persie as United’s lone striker, Ferguson has conceded that the England forward is still to reach full fitness following his delayed return to pre-season training due to his involvement at Euro 2012.
“I think this [injury] may be a blessing,” Ferguson said. “The fact it’s a gash, not a ligament or muscle injury, means he can do a lot of work in the gymnasium. He will be able to do gym work – he was in the gym yesterday actually – and we will continue that. The minute he starts running, that will also involve the football side of it too.”
While admitting Rooney’s fitness levels were not as high as those of his team-mates, Ferguson also hinted at a new, deeper role for the player by comparing his fitness levels to United’s midfielders.
“He wasn’t as fit [as the other players].” Ferguson said. “He said himself he needs a few games and I wanted to play Van Persie at the start at Old Trafford against Fulham.
“I knew he wasn’t 100 per cent fit either and I would rather have taken him off with 20 minutes to go, but I couldn’t really start the two of them and I wanted to start with Van Persie.
“Wayne is behind the rest. He’s not as advanced as [Shinji] Kagawa or the other midfield players.” Although Rooney, who returned to pre-season in the final week of July, appeared in friendlies against Valerenga, Barcelona and Hannover, Ferguson insists he did not rack up enough game time before the start of the season.
He said: “Pre-season is about making sure you’ve got enough games before you start the season. That’s why most teams have six or seven games pre-season.”
Ferguson will also be without winger Ashley Young for Sunday’s trip toSouthampton because of a knee injury, which has ruled him out of the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine. Ferguson has hit out at the Football Association for affecting United’s competitive advantage by revealing the problem through naming the squad on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
“It was nice of the FA to let everyone know that Ashley Young is injured.” Ferguson said. “We have a game on Sunday — why should they alert our opponents about who is fit and who is not fit? It won’t happen again. He will be ready for a couple of weeks’ time.”
Ferguson has confirmed that midfielder Darren Fletcher is being considered for United’s Champions League squad after making good progress in his battle against the bowel condition, ulcerative colitis, which has sidelined him for 10 months. “He played for the reserves the other night and did really well. But with the condition he has, and has to deal with, it’s wait and see,” Ferguson said.
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