Manchester United Wayne Rooney set for scan on injured knee

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney set for scan on injured knee

• England captain was left out of 2-1 win over Stoke
• Ángel di María unlikely to play against Southampton
• Ander Herrera inspires hard-earned win against Stoke


Wayne Rooney is set to have a scan on his injured knee on Wednesday to discover the extent of the injury which ruled him out of Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Stoke.

The England captain was a surprise omission from Louis van Gaal’s starting lineup at Old Trafford on Tuesday night after scoring five times in his previous games for the club and country. The Dutch manager revealed before the Stoke match that Rooney was struggling from calf and knee injuries but had expressed his desire to start the game.

However, Van Gaal drafted in the teenager James Wilson instead as United recorded a fourth successive victory and the manager said afterwards that he is hopeful Rooney’s injury will not keep him out for long.

“It is his knee but we have to wait for tomorrow to say anything about it because you never know with a knee. In my opinion it is not so heavy but I am not a doctor,” he said. “We have to wait a scan and we will know more.”

United were also without Ángel di María against Stoke after he limped out of the win over Hull. The Argentina midfielder’s wife Jorgelina Cardoso revealed to a fan on Instagram on Tuesday that he has a “small tear” in his hamstring and Van Gaal appeared optimistic when asked about his likely return date.

“Di María is not so heavy but, of course, he shall not play against Southampton but you never know,” he said.

The Dutch midfielder Daley Blind is also unlikely to feature against Southampton but his manager believes there is a chance he could be back for the busy Christmas programme.

“Not next week, I don’t know … Christmas maybe – maybe Christmas,” he said. “At the end of December maybe we see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Guardian