England captain Wayne Rooney emerged unscathed when he played just over an hour for Manchester United's Under-21 side at Old Trafford on Monday, having missed 12 first-team matches with a knee injury.
Football Soccer - Sunderland v Manchester United - Barclays Premier League - Stadium of Light - 13/2/16
Manchester United's Wayne Rooney arrives before the match
Action Images via Reuters / Lee Smith
MANCHESTER: England captain Wayne Rooney emerged unscathed
when he played just over an hour for Manchester United's Under-21 side
at Old Trafford on Monday, having missed 12 first-team matches with a
knee injury.
The striker last featured for his club in a 2-1 defeat at
Sunderland on Feb. 13 but looked fit, if ring rusty, in a 1-0 win over
Middlesbrough's Under-21s.
The only goal came from Paddy McNair eight minutes after the over-age Rooney's planned exit.
Manager Louis van Gaal was among a 6,000-plus crowd who
turned up on a cold, wet night to see the return of England's 51-goal
record scorer as he began his comeback two months before their opening
European Championship match against Russia in Marseille on June 11.
Rooney, 30, had a speculative long-range shot early on that
posed no problem to Middlesbrough keeper Joe Fryer and also sent a free
kick high over the crossbar in the second half.
England manager Roy Hodgson has indicated Rooney will be in
the squad for the Euros when he names it in a month's time, as long as
he is "mechanically fit".
Rooney now has a maximum of nine United first-team matches before the end of the season to regain his sharpness.
They have six Premier League games left and could play three
more matches in the FA Cup if they win Wednesday's sixth-round replay
at West Ham United and go on to reach the final.
Van Gaal would welcome a fully-fit Rooney back to his
first-team squad as soon as possible to help revive their chances of
claiming a Champions League place next season.
After losing 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, United are
fifth in the table, four points behind Manchester City who occupy the
fourth and final Champions League slot.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)
- Reuters
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