On the very day that Steve McClaren announced his squad for England’s final Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia on Nov. 21, the England coach was hit with the news that star striker Wayne Rooney would have to pull out. The Manchester United player suffered an ankle injury in training on Friday that will keep him out for up to four
weeks, according to club officials.
Once again, Rooney’s injury comes at an unfortunate time for England and for McClaren. He’s already missed six and a half weeks of the season after suffering a hairline fracture in August. Lately, Rooney’s been in excellent form for Manchester United and England, scoring nine goals in his last nine games for club and country. The 21-year-old was named EPL Player of the Month in October for his sparkling performances.
The Lions are second in Group E, just two points ahead of Russia, which has a game in hand. If the Russians prevail against Israel in Tel-Aviv next Saturday, England will not qualify for the finals, as Russia’s final game four days later is at home to tiny Andorra, which has failed to earn a single point in Euro 2008 qualifying thus far. With a Russian tie or loss in Israel, England would qualify by beating Croatia at Wembley. There will be little incentive for Croatia to win that game, as the group leader will have already qualified by then.