Disaster Strikes Man United
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by Ea34
Just before halftime of Sunday's season opening 0-0 draw with Reading, Michael Carrick crossed the ball into the box, creating a wonderful goal-scoring chance for Wayne Rooney. Unable to keep his shot down, Rooney sent the ball flying over the Reading crossbar. He was tackled on the play by Reading defender Michael Dubarry, who fell on Rooney's foot, resulting in a hairline fracture of the United star striker's foot. While the extent of the injury is not yet known, Rooney is likely to be sidelined for at least six weeks, if not longer.
Manchester United's attack was all set to receive a massive a shot in the arm thanks to the recent resolution of the issues surrounding Carlos Tevez's move from West Ham United. Now, Tevez will be called upon to join the Red Devils at once, likely making his debut with the on Wednesday's away match at Portsmouth.
I have previously expressed concern at ManU's lack of depth at the striker position, which would likely have featured Rooney, Tevez and the injury-prone duo of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Louis Saha. With Tevez now the only United striker not either injured or recovering from injury, it is imperative that Sir Alex make a move to bolster this unit. Without Rooney, United were forced to play john O'Shea and new arrival Nani up front with Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes- a combination that resulted in zero goals in a game ManU totally dominated, playing with a one-man advantage for the last 20 minutes.
If Rooney is out for a major chunk of this season, United's hopes of repeating as Premiership champions may go with him.
