Michael Owen is done for the season and Wayne Rooney finds himself in Sir Alex’s doghouse
Manchester United were the first English team to claim silverware this past week after a 2-1 win in the Carling Cup final over Aston Villa at Wembley, February 28. Despite going a goal down to a James Milner penalty in the fifth minute, United found goals through strikers Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney in securing the victory. While the Carling Cup is the least prestigious of the four competitions (Champions League, Premier League title, and FA Cup) United plays for each year, their premature elimination in the FA Cup to Leeds United January 3 made the victory on Sunday mean that much more.
Unfortunately for United, Owen had to be substituted out of the match only 30 minutes after scoring their first goal. After the match it was revealed he sustained a serious hamstring injury that will cause him to miss the rest of the season. While Owen hasn't scored with the frequency that manager Sir Alex Ferguson would have liked this season, United can’t afford to lose any potential goal scorers.
As mentioned in my article last week, Owen was one of the players who needed to find his top form in the few remaining months of the season. His injury hurts United's chances to challenge for domestic and European honors this year. Before the match both teams expressed concerns over the condition of the Wembley pitch and it's believed that was the leading cause of Owen's injury, despite his injury-plagued past. Not only will Owen miss the rest of the season for United, but his slim hopes of playing for England in the World Cup this summer are officially squashed.
It was no surprise that United’s other scorer in the Carling Cup final was Wayne Rooney, who continued his sensational form by scoring the winning goal with 15 minutes remaining. During the match, Rooney aggravated a knee injury that was likely made worse by the rough pitch. Although United were to have five days off before playing Wolverhampton Wanderers, March 6, Rooney joined up with the English national team for a friendly versus Egypt, March 3. While Ferguson did give Rooney permission to travel with England to the match he did not believe Rooney was going to play.
Rooney did play 86 minutes against Egypt and worsened the injury to his knee in the process. Ferguson blasted Rooney for selfishly playing in a meaningless friendly while United have important matches ahead. Ferguson was critical of Rooney but he did not blame England Manager Fabio Capello for playing him. “I don’t blame Fabio at all," said Ferguson, “but don’t forget he [Rooney] was not supposed to be playing at all. That’s what [Rooney] told us on Sunday because he was feeling his knee. He went into the game with an injury and I don’t think he should have played but his own enthusiasm caused it. He can’t say no, that’s his problem.”
Due to his knee injury, Rooney was unable to play in United’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton, March 6 and may not be fit in time for a crucial Champions League match against AC Milan, March 10. With Owen out and Rooney’s status uncertain for the match with AC Milan, Ferguson will likely rely heavily on Dimitar Berbatov to prove his worth on the big stage at Old Trafford this week.
