Rooney out for two months
13 Aug 2007 - 17:25:23
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is unlikely to play again until mid-October after suffering a fractured foot in Sunday's goalless draw against Reading at Old Trafford.
The club have confirmed that the 21-year-old will spend two months on the sidelines with the injury.
The news means that the former Everton star will miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia in September and could also be struggling to feature in the October games against Estonia and Russia.
Rooney missed three months after suffering a foot injury in 2004 but made a quicker recovery from a similar injury just before the start of last summer's World Cup finals in Germany.
Rooney suffered his latest injury when Reading defender Michael Duberry accidentally stood on his foot and he had to be replaced for the second half.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson could now hand a debut to Argentina international Carlos Tevez for Wednesday night's trip to Portsmouth.
"Carlos Tevez is available now and Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are training," Ferguson told United's official website.
"I was considering using Carlos at Portsmouth anyway but, obviously, he will come into our thoughts even more now."