Following the revelation that Wayne Rooney could miss at least the next month with a leg injury, there has been plenty of speculation linking the former Everton striker with a move out of Old Trafford. However, Rooney has now announced that such reports are absolute rubbish and he is definitely planning to stay at the club.
Reports over the weekend started to suffice that United officials had grown sick and tired of the 26-year-old’s form and injury issues and therefore had embarked on a mission to sell him. Figures of £50m were being branded about and following the recent capture of Robin Van Persie, several people started to even buy into the speculation.
However, Rooney has now moved to deny such stories. Writing on his Twitter account, the England international said, “Read the nonsense in the papers and heard what people have to say. Absolute rubbish. #heretostay.”
Nevertheless, United supporters are going to have to wait a long time to see the striker in action again. While some sources have claimed that Rooney will be out for just one month with his injury, others have speculated that it could be closer to two and this could hinder the club’s title chances significantly. Even though it would be fair to say that the player was not in the best of form prior to this issue, there is no doubt that he is still integral to Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans and would probably still be in the starting eleven were it not for fitness reasons.
With Rooney set to be absent for the foreseeable future, it now remains to be seen just what approach Ferguson will take. He already looks set to lose another striker, with Dimitar Berbatov reportedly set to move to Fiorentina, meaning that his attacking options are certainly limited. Many believe that he could use RVP as a lone striker, or even call on Javier Hernández who is still to make a league appearance for the club this term.