Wayne Rooney will be unavailable for Manchester United’s games against West Ham in the Premier League and Wolfsburg in the Champions League because of an ankle injury.
Manager Louis van Gaal confirmed the striker’s injury, which he suffered in the 1-1 draw at Leicester, was worse than at first thought.
The 30-year-old, who has played 499 games for the club, will miss Saturday’s home game against West Ham and the European fixture in Wolfsburg next Tuesday.
“It’s a nasty injury. He shall not play his 500th game (on Saturday) because he is more injured than I thought so we have to wait for that game,” Van Gaal said.
“His ankle is not good enough and we have to recover that ankle with a lot of strength. He has to do a lot of exercises to make his ankle stronger. He needs more time.”
Van Gaal later confirmed Rooney would also not feature in Tuesday’s game in Wolfsburg, which United need to win to guarantee their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
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