Rooney’s set to be on bench duty for final
WAYNE ROONEY is bracing himself for some disappointment on Sunday.
The Manchester United skipper has missed the past four matches through a combination of a muscle injury and root canal treatment and seems highly unlikely to be recalled to Jose Mourinho’s starting line-up for the EFL Cup final against Southampton at Wembley.
Mourinho has already ruled out the prospect of Rooney returning in the Europa League away leg against Saint-Etienne in France tomorrow and, even if he declares himself fit by the end of the week, the best it seems he can hope for is a place on the bench.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a certain starter after firing his 24th goal of the season in the FA Cup win at Blackburn on Sunday, while United’s other frontrunners – Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata – have all scored goals recently, are in good form and appear to be ahead of Rooney in the queue for places.
Mourinho admitted on Sunday that he “doesn’t know” if Rooney – who has started three games in the last two months – will be fit for Wembley.
That could prove his last chance of playing in a ON MARK: Rashford is in scoring form domestic cup final for United amid continuing speculation he might leave this summer in search of more regular football. Mourinho has confirmed, however, he will continue to give Rashford more opportunities, either from the start or the bench, after his goal in the 2-1 win at Blackburn. “I give Rashford a chance every game – he plays some part of every game,” he said. “Sometimes people forget he is selected for every game and plays in almost every one.” Rashford says United will go to Stamford Bridge for the FA Cup quarter-final next month with a score to settle after Chelsea trounced them 4-0 in October – their last Premier League defeat. “They got one over us so we have to go there with the attitude to win,” he said. Rashford revealed that the number of shock results in the cup this season served as a useful reminder for the players that their attitude had to be spot on at Ewood Park. “We expect upsets every year in this competition. You always get the surprises and shocks in the FA Cup,” he said. “We can only be ready for every single game and, no matter the opponents, we come with the attitude to win every single game.”