Wayne Rooney out for two months with knee injury in huge blow to Manchester United's top four hopes

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney could be missing for up to two months with a knee ligament injury in another massive blow to manager Louis van Gaal.

Rooney has scored seven goals in his last nine appearances for United, form which has kept United in the hunt for Champions League qualification, even though the team has been struggling.

Rooney's injury comes at the worst time for United

But, having failed to take his place on the flight to Denmark for tomorrow night’s Europa League game against FC Midtjylland it has emerged Rooney has picked up a ligament injury which will require a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Rooney’s absence will also be of concern to England manager Roy Hodgson as he can be slow to regain match sharpness after a lengthy spell of inactivity and the European Championships are just four months away.

The absence of his captain could not have come at a worse time for Van Gaal as he fights to save his job or – given the strong suggestions Jose Mourinho has already been lined up to replace him in the summer – to at least go out on a high.

The news is a blow to Van Gaal's hopes of keeping his job

Van Gaal had wanted to play a strong team against FC Midtjylland as the Europa League could be United’s only route back into the Champions League next season. Uefa changed the rules two years ago, which means the winners of the competition qualify for European football’s premier competition the following season.

United are struggling to secure a top four finish in the Premier League having lost 2-1 to Sunderland last weekend.

The loss of Rooney will also crank up the pressure on Anthony Martial, who is likely to start in a central role against Midtjylland having spent much of his first season in England playing out wide.

Anthony Martial is about to have a lot more pressure on his shoulders

Will Keane has also travelled to Denmark and the 23-year-old is also likely to be involved as a substitute as he looks to prove he has a long term future at Old Trafford.

If Rooney’s injury as bad as initially feared, he is likely to miss at least eight Premier League games, as well as the second leg against FC Midtjylland next week.

Share on Google Plus

About Quang

My blog is the place to update the latest information on sports, science and technology ... If you found this article good, useful please the share for others to see, even if you want to design a ecommerce website or web edit or set a special plugin functionality, please contact us now (Information in the footer)