Mourinho In Trouble: Manchester United Star Might Miss Arsenal Clash
Nov 16, 2016 at 7:57 PM
Manchester United star Wayne Rooney is in a race against time to get fit before the important clash against Arsenal. The striker was sent home from England duty last night after he failed to recover from a knee injury.
England are due to play against Spain in a friendly and their interim boss Gareth Southgate said that the Manchester United ace would not have started the game anyway. He said that the striker along with Southampton full-back Ryan Bertrand missed the training due to slight injuries.
Before Rooney’s withdrawal, Southgate had said:“They weren’t ready to train today so they must be a doubt, but we’ll have to look later. I wouldn’t start Wayne in this game anyway, so we’ll decide which route to go.”
If Rooney fails to get fit in time, it will leave United boss Jose Mourinho with a severe crisis up front. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss the game against the Gunners after picking his fifth yellow card of the season in the 3-1 win over Swansea City.
Although the England international is not in a good form now, his presence in the crunch clash would have given his team a lot of confidence. He played the full ninety minutes in England’s 3-0 win over Scotland and also returned to United starting eleven against Swansea.
Speaking on Rooney’s current form, Southgate had said:” He’s confident and I think experience in a game like this is important, in a team that has a lot of energy and potential, but you also need a lot of experience. He’s in a better place than he was for the last get-together in terms of his sharpness, his confidence. There was no hesitation to be playing him.
Mourinho’s men have struggled to perform consistently this season and are currently sixth in the table with 18 points from 11 games. On the other hand, the Gunners have started the season in emphatic fashion and are fourth in the table with 24 points. United will have to be at their best to get a good result against the North London club and missing Rooney and Ibrahimovic is certainly a big blow for them.
The Metro has reported that the injury is not thought to be serious and United will be desperately hoping that they are right.