Wayne’s sprain drives everyone insane
Come out of hiding, post the invites to your World Cup parties back on Facebook, climb down off that ledge, sir. Wayne Rooney is okay, well, he’s okay for England anyway, because that’s the most important thing isn’t it?
The widespread hysteria that followed Rooney’s late tumble in the Allianz Arena on Tuesday was at best laughable. At worst it was downright irresponsible.
Considering the German city that Manchester United were in on Tuesday night, describing the – admittedly awkward-looking – injury suffered by their star striker as “a horror blow”, “a disaster” and “a catastrophe” was surely stretching things to breaking point.
A disaster happened to United in Munich 52 years ago, when 23 people died in an air crash. Even if Rooney had have been ruled out for the rest of the season and the World Cup on Tuesday night, it pales into insignificance.
Yet are we surprised? The fitness of Rooney has been all that the nation has been concerned about for the last six months hasn’t it?
The forward’s scintillating form for United and England has led to – entirely justified – comparisons with the best players on the planet, but – and perhaps this is typical British pessimism coming to the fore – no conversation about England’s chances at the World Cup could be completed without the words, “yeah, but if Rooney gets injured...”
Media companies would have seized upon that, and it is no surprise that knees jerked and hats were dropped the moment the forward fell to the floor and clutched his ankle in the immediate aftermath of Ivica Olić’s winning goal for Bayern Munich. It’s the culture we live in. We’ve been here before after all.
Rooney, David Beckham and Michael Owen were all involved in “fitness races” before the last World Cup, while in 2002 it was Beckham, Gary Neville, Steven Gerrard and Gerrard’s replacement in the squad Danny Murphy. Paranormalist and spoon-bender Uri Geller even appeared on national television urging the nation to pass on their “positive energies” to Beckham and Rooney’s broken metatarsals. Not surprisingly many did.
This time around, the sight of Rooney leaving Munich on crutches and with a protective cast on his right foot immediately sent everyone into overdrive, with little or no mention of the fact that United would have insisted on the cast as a mere precaution.
Ah yes, United, Rooney’s “other” team. If the forward is to miss a few important games for them – and they play Chelsea and Bayern next – then it will be a huge blow for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, not that they were getting much of a mention in the breathless media.
“Pray,” said The Sun, “not since Cinderella has so much rested on one foot” said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail, ignoring the fact that Rooney had injured his ankle. Sky Sports News went into overdrive all morning before, demonstrating the same tension-building tactics they use before announcing who has been voted off The X Factor, declaring that Rooney would be out for two to four weeks with “... a sprained ankle.”
A sprained ankle? That same injury we all used to get when we were dodging the dog muck and the potholes on our school football pitches? That was what all this fuss was about?
It was hardly surprising. Nor would it be much of a surprise if we were to experience the same mass hysteria between now and England’s first World Cup match against the USA on June 12th.
It tends to happen every four years. Just spare us Uri Geller this time will you?
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