Wayne Rooney will miss Manchester United's final home game of the season as he is still struggling to overcome a groin injury.
Interim player-manager Ryan Giggs revealed on the eve of United's home game against Hull that the 28-year-old has still not recovered from the injury.
"Wayne is probably struggling for the game. He's not quite recovered. We'll continue to monitor him," Giggs told MUTV.
Sources close to Rooney insisted last week that the groin complaint would not affect the striker's chances of being fit for the World Cup.
But just a week ahead of his squad announcement, England manager Roy Hodgson will be anxious, no doubt, that his star striker is missing matches.
Rooney's absence for the Hull game means the door is open for Giggs to hand Robin van Persie his first start in seven weeks as he has now fully recovered from a knee injury.
Tuesday will be the final home match of Giggs' temporary reign, with Holland coach Louis van Gaal expected to be appointed as David Moyes' successor in the coming days.
Van Gaal has been urged to include Giggs and his coaches Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes among his staff by former United skipper Bryan Robson.
"I think it would be very disappointing for those lads not to be kept on, in whatever role, as they are part of Manchester United," Robson said.
"The fans would be very disappointed if they don't have a future in the club.
"I have read that Van Gaal wants to bring in a goalkeeper coach, a fitness coach, and (Patrick) Kluivert as his assistant.
"If you are talking about bringing all these people in you have to make sure that you are making the right decision and you are not allowing them too much rope.
"It is up to the board to step in and say, 'You can have leeway with this, but there are definitely restrictions on this part of the club'.
"That has to come from the club rather than the new coach. Sometimes I think when you go into a new club, why not give the staff a chance?"
United have always maintained the fact that Van Gaal will not be able to take over fully until after the World Cup is not a problem.
Holland's World Cup preparations begin on Wednesday when the Eredivisie-based players in Van Gaal's squad meet for their first training camp in Hoenderloo, which is 50 miles to the south-east of Amsterdam.
The cameras will focus on the Holland manager, but he has chosen not to hold his press conference until May 13, when he will announce his provisional 30-man squad for the finals in Brazil.
The fact that the squad does not meet up until Wednesday afternoon leaves open the possibility of Van Gaal attending United's game versus Hull.
The shock defeat to Sunderland was United's seventh league loss on their own patch in what has been a dismal year.
Juan Mata feels the players owe the supporters a much better performance against Hull.
"I was unhappy with the result, but the good thing is that on Tuesday we play again in Old Trafford," United's club-record signing wrote on his blog.
"It's our last game at home this season and we want to have a decent farewell in front of our fans, with a good game and a victory.
"They have given us remarkable support throughout the last year and that shows the greatness of the club and the loyalty of our fans in the good and, in particular, the bad moments."
The Hull game will be a significant one for a number of reasons.
Nemanja Vidic will play his final game at Old Trafford. For Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra - both of whom are out of contract this summer - it could be their last home game too.
And it may well be the last time United fans get a glimpse of Giggs for a while as he has not been assured that he will figure in Van Gaal's plans - either as a player or coach.
The interim boss did not rule out naming himself in the matchday squad when quizzed on the matter at the weekend.
Giggs said: "Of course, the perfect scenario is me coming on and scoring a goal, the winning goal, and hopefully everyone will be happy but it doesn't always work like that. We'll have to wait and see what happens on the night."
Giggs added that defender Rafael could feature against Hull, but defender Jonny Evans is out for the rest of the season with an unspecified injury.
No comments:
Post a Comment