EPL 2016/17: Wayne Rooney out of Chelsea clash with injury

Rooney has had a disappointing Premier League campaign

Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney, will play no part in Sunday’s clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. According to multiple sources, it is reported that the striker will miss the game due to a minor muscular injury that he picked up during training, and has been ruled out of the traveling squad.

It seems Jose Mourinho will have to wait longer to bring Wayne Rooney to The Blues den along with him, having made a desperate attempt to lure the striker back in 2013-14 when he was in charge of Chelsea. Now, when he will be visiting as an opposition manager, Rooney and Mourinho will once again be missing together.

Ruled out due to injury

Based on current circumstances and the fan reactions, the headlines could easily have suggested that Rooney has taken a step further backward after failing to make it to the squad. However, Sky Sports reported that the player is down with an injury that forced Mourinho to leave the club captain and travel with the rest of squad to London by train from Stockport.

Also read: EPL 2016/17: Chelsea vs Manchester United - Combined XI

The extent of the injury is still not clear and Mourinho is expected to stick with Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front, hoping to get a positive result on his return to the Stamford Bridge. It will be a homecoming for The Special One, 10 months after he got sacked.

Having started the last 3 Premier League matches on the bench, Rooney just played a full 90-minute match in the Europa league tie against Fenerbahce, a match United won 4-1, on Thursday. Rooney has clearly fallen down the pecking order under Mourinho recently and last started a game against Watford where United lost 3-1 and the United captain received a lot of criticism for his dismal performance which has become a norm these days.

Goal drought

Rooney last scored against Bournemouth in a 3-1 win back in August. It still remains the only goal for Rooney this season who has failed to add to his tally in a run of 10 matches since then.

With Ibrahimovic not on the pitch, the fact that the 2 penalties against Fenerbahce were taken by others might be a speculating point regarding the authority of the United captain in the team these days.

Rooney is, however, chasing a record 88 away Premier League goals against his name to go clear at the top surpassing Alan Shearer. He failed to score at Anfield against Liverpool and with injury keeping him out of the Chelsea match he will hope to travel with the squad on 6th of November as United play away to Swansea.

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Edited by Staff Editor