Rooney's return perfectly timed for United
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
LISBON, Sept 18 (AFP): Sir Alex Ferguson will let Wayne Rooney off the leash as Manchester United start their Champions League challenge at Sporting Lisbon Wednesday.
Rooney has been sidelined since breaking a metatarsal bone in United's first match of the season against Reading, but he is set to feature at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
The England striker returned to training last week and was keen to play against Everton on Saturday, but Ferguson wasn't prepared to risk him until he was fully fit.
With United strangely lacklustre in attack so far this season, Rooney's return is perfectly timed.
The Premier League champions haven't scored more than once in any of their seven matches this season. Successive 1-0 wins over Tottenham, Sunderland and Everton have been more notable for United's lack of fluency than the results.
But having Rooney fit and desperate to make up for lost time should go a long way to solving the problem.
The last time Rooney broke a toe was before the 2006 World Cup. Just weeks after suffering the injury he announced his return to action by walking into the England team's hotel and proclaiming 'the big man is back'. Unfortunately he was far from match fit and made little impact in the tournament.
Rooney has been sidelined since breaking a metatarsal bone in United's first match of the season against Reading, but he is set to feature at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
The England striker returned to training last week and was keen to play against Everton on Saturday, but Ferguson wasn't prepared to risk him until he was fully fit.
With United strangely lacklustre in attack so far this season, Rooney's return is perfectly timed.
The Premier League champions haven't scored more than once in any of their seven matches this season. Successive 1-0 wins over Tottenham, Sunderland and Everton have been more notable for United's lack of fluency than the results.
But having Rooney fit and desperate to make up for lost time should go a long way to solving the problem.
The last time Rooney broke a toe was before the 2006 World Cup. Just weeks after suffering the injury he announced his return to action by walking into the England team's hotel and proclaiming 'the big man is back'. Unfortunately he was far from match fit and made little impact in the tournament.