DEDICATED: Wayne's willing to play with the reserves to boost his England chances
The 30-year-old has been sidelined for six weeks with damaged knee ligaments and is not expected to return to senior action until the middle of April.
This will leave him with around a month to regain his match fitness before England travel to France for the Euros.
But it has emerged the crocked star has told United boss Louis van Gaal he is prepared to play for the club’s under-21 side to boost his chances of being in top condition ahead of the finals.
There is no suggestion Rooney will not make Roy Hodgson’s final 23-man squad for the summer tournament.
But the England and United captain has a long history of taking time to regain his sharpness following injury lay-offs.
The pressure is mounting on Hodgson to axe Rooney from his starting XI for the opening group game against Russia in Marseille.
Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane have gone ahead of him in the pecking order following impressive seasons for both club and country.
Hodgson remains a huge fan of Rooney and is desperate to start the tournament with his record goalscorer.
And Rooney is determined not to give Hodgson an excuse to leave him out for what could be his last appearance at a major finals.
He knows he could have just four games for United to demonstrate his fitness to Hodgson, who names his squad on May 12.
He wants to get as many matches under his belt as possible and has asked Van Gaal if he can be considered for reserve games in the coming weeks.
The under-21 side have games against Chelsea, Middlesbrough and Tottenham next month and he is expected to be involved in two of those matches.
Former United flop Radamel Falcao fell out with Van Gaal when the Dutchman ordered him to play in the reserve side last season.
The Colombian was reduced to tears and hit the roof, but Rooney has taken the opposite attitude and knows it could provide him with the perfect platform to boost his England chances.
No comments:
Post a Comment