Rooney recall is no yolk
Welbeck woe after horror ankle injury
GARETH SOUTHGATE cut across the debate surrounding Wayne Rooney’s controversial England return in bizarre fashion by declaring the nation’s top scorer was “not a duck egg”.
The England manager has been stunned by the furore caused by giving a cameo role to a player who had retired from the side – and says Rooney will play a full part in training ahead of the friendly against the USA at Wembley next Thursday.
“He is not a duck egg, is he?” Southgate said. “He is playing at a pretty decent level in the American League.
“I have joined in on training sessions in the past so the players will be thinking, ‘At least we are one up from where we were last month, when the gaffer joined!’”
Southgate added that Rooney, above, would DANNY WELBECK needed oxygen as he was taken off with a sickening injury in the Europa League at the Emirates last night.
The Arsenal striker, who had been named in the England squad earlier in the day, was left in agony after landing badly and twisting his right foot back on itself.
He left the pitch on a stretcher with his foot in a brace, sparking fears of another major blow for a player whose career has been dogged by injuries. The 26th-minute incident marred a tricky, frustrating evening for Unai Emery’s team but the point was enough to see them into the knockout stages as group rivals Qarabag won 1-0 at Vorskla Poltava
In Belarus, Chelsea also qualified from their group as they won 1-0 at BATE Borisov thanks to Olivier Giroud’s 52nd-minute winner, his first goal of the season for the Blues.