Rooney will not travel to Valencia for Champions League tie
Published:Wayne Rooney will not travel with the Manchester United squad to Valencia for their Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Rooney was substituted on the hour mark in United’s game with Bolton at the weekend and was spotted with ice and heavy strapping around his ankle.
Sir Alex Ferguson claims Rooney has been suffering with the injury for the past few games and with Ferguson admitting that the furore surrounding Rooney’s private life is affecting the England striker, a break may be good for Rooney.
However it leaves Sir Alex Ferguson without his star striker and Ryan Giggs, who is suffering from a hamstring injury and is likely to be out for a couple of weeks.
United need a result in Spain after the draw with Rangers in their opening game and are 6/4 to win against Valencia on Wednesday.
Michael Owen’s goal with his first touch against Bolton will please Ferguson as he looks to replace Rooney, but he may prefer a 4-5-1 formation with Berbatov leading the line to stifle the Valencia attack.
If Valencia are to register a win, 17/10 to do so, United will face a tough test to qualify from Group C, a group they are currently 8/15 to top.
Ferguson will hope that Rooney can recover from his ankle injury quickly and the striker has a history of recovering from injuries quickly, most notably when recovering from a metatarsal injury in time for the 2006 World Cup.
United face an away trip to Sunderland, who have managed draws with Arsenal and Liverpool in their previous two games, before the international break.
United are currently three points behind Chelsea in the Premier League and they are 9/4 to win the league.
Rooney is 14/1 to recover from his injury and end up being the Premier League’s top goalscorer. See the full Barclays Premier League football betting odds market here.
