Rooney’s worst fears confirmed

Wayne Rooney's hopes of a quick comeback from the nasty wound he sustained during Manchester United's 3–2 win over Fulham look certain to be dashed.

Rooney stayed in hospital overnight and manager Sir Alex Ferguson said the injury was "a very bad one" that would rule out his forward for four weeks.

Surgeons were said ti be surprised at the depth of the cut.

Rooney returned home yesterday morning.

His chances of figuring in next Sunday's Premier League encounter with Southampton appear non–existent and it seems inevitable he will also miss England's opening World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine next month.

With the start of another Champions League campaign and a trip to Liverpool looming after the international break, any reduction in the four–week recovery timescale would be a bonus for Ferguson.

Rodallega has been cleared of any blame for the incident, which happened as Rooney attempted to close down a free–kick that had just rebounded back to the Colombian.

Rooney's condition helped deflect attention away from the fact he didn’t feature in the United starting line–up,

Ferguson decided to retain the combination of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa.

Both new boys scored for United following the shock of a Damian Duff opener for Fulham in the second minute.


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