Rooney body blow for Reds

MANCHESTER United boss Louis van Gaal admits Wayne Rooney may have made his knee injury worse by playing through the pain last weekend.

Ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash with FC Midtjylland, Van Gaal said Rooney hadn’t travelled with United to Denmark because of the knee problem suffered in the 2–1 defeat at Sunderland on Saturday.

Rooney could be out for up six weeks.

"You cannot say if he made the injury worse by staying on because he didn't know when it happened. That's the difficulty."

Van Gaal stressed United will simply "have to cope" after an injury that takes the club's list of unavailable senior players to 12.

But the loss of Rooney – as well as being a worry for England as they prepare for Euro 2016 – is a major

setback for Van Gaal at a time when his team are struggling in the race for a top–four finish in the Premier League.