UEFA Champions League News: Wayne Rooney out of Man Utd’s clash with Valencia at the Mestalla
The Premier League season has not started for Manchester United the way they wanted it to. From six games played so far they are averaging 2 points per game and sit second in the table behind runaway league leaders Chelsea, who
are on 15 points.
United’s match away at Bolton was a horrible experience for them, for not only were they unable to close the gap on Chelsea after the London club’s loss on Saturday, but they also lost two pivotal players to injury.
First it was Ryan Giggs who strained his hamstring during the match and was replaced by Park Ji-Sung and then it was Wayne Rooney whose troublesome ankle got crocked again.
Now it’s being reported on the Manchester United official website that Rooney will not travel to Spain as Manchester United take on Valencia.
Rooney was substituted in the match against Bolton by Michael Owen, who ironically scored the goal that spared United’s blushes in the game as they returned from the short trip down the M61 with at least a point. Rooney was later
seen in the match with an ice pack on his ankle and although it was speculated that the injury was nothing serious and the English striker would be fit for the midweek Champions League clash, further scans have revealed that Rooney has strained tendons in
his ankle and will not travel with the side to Spain.
The news comes as a blow to Manchester United who will sorely miss their star striker in the all important clash.
Ryan Giggs has also been ruled out of the match and is expected to be out for two weeks and now with the absence of Rooney from the key clash, Sir Alex Ferguson will have a few selection headaches ahead of the game.
United Assistant Manager Mike Phelan had said after the Bolton game that Rooney will be fit in time for the midweek clash but today it was proved that the initial assessments about the strikers injury were wrong.
A statement on Manutd.com said that "while the injury is not thought to be serious", Rooney would not be fit enough to be included.
United opened their Champion’s League campaign with a drab and disappointing draw against Rangers and a win in this tie is a must for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side but without the services of United’s two most important players, United
are likely to struggle in the game.
Valencia were ruthless in their opening game of the Champions League as they brushed aside Turkish minnows and Champions League debutants Bursaspor, 4-0, and given Manchester United’s defensive frailties, the tie will not be an
easy one for the 2008 Champions.
Although Rooney has endured a disappointing start to the season so far, Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping that the striker could get rid of the demons haunting him, but now the Scott will have to wait for his striker to do so.
In the absence of Rooney, United are likely to feature a front two consisting of Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen while Park is almost certain to take Ryan Giggs’ spot in the side.
Estadio Mestalla is not an easy venue for any side to play as Valencia’s home is their fortress and so far this season they have not lost a single point in their own den and a visit from the three time European Champions will cause
no fear for the Spanish side as they are the form team at the moment.
It will be interesting to see how United will respond to these two key losses and get their campaign back on its feet. Any loss of points in the game could prove to be very costly for United as they are looking to progress to the
knock out stages of the competition for the 6th time in a row.
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