Sir Alex Ferguson is considering naming Wayne Rooney as a substitute in Manchester United's decisive Premier League match at Wigan Athletic on Sunday, despite concerns over the forward's fitness.
With Louis Saha injured and Nani suspended, Ferguson has only two fit forwards in Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rooney has missed two matches after suffering a recurrence of a hip injury during the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on April 26. The England forward scored United's goal at Stamford Bridge and then waved away his celebrating team-mates in pain.
He originally sustained the injury in a Premier League game at Blackburn last month and is undergoing treatment to break down congealed blood in the hip joint.
With United preparing for the Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow on May 21, Ferguson had been keen to protect Rooney by resting him from first-team duty until the trip to Russia.
United's Rio Ferdinand, set to be reunited with his central defensive partner, Nemanja Vidic, at Wigan following the Serbian's 10-day rest after he suffered concussion, has acknowledged that the plaudits he has received for his form this season will mean nothing if he fails to win silverware in the Premier League or Champions League.
He said: "I always strive for consistency and I think that, over the past few seasons, I've managed to achieve that to a good level, but at the end of the day, it's about medals and winning things.
"If I'm performing well and the team is winning, then I'm happy. But if we're not winning then it doesn't matter how well I'm playing.
"Maybe in the summer I'll look back on the season and be able to say, 'yeah, I've been pleased with my form'. Until then, the focus is on winning trophies."
No comments:
Post a Comment