Rooney out for two months
England lie fourth in Group E and need to beat Israel and Russia next month
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Monday, 13, Aug 2007 10:33
Wayne Rooney will miss England's crunch Euro 2008 qualifiers after fracturing his foot in Manchester United's 0-0 draw with Reading.
A scan has revealed the striker suffered a hairline fracture of his left foot in the first half at Old Trafford and he will be out for two months, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed.
Rooney will now certainly miss England's crucial home games against Israel on September 8th and Russia four days later.
And he may even be a doubt for the following two games of the qualifying campaign against Estonia on October 13th and the return game against Russia in Moscow on October 17th.
The former Everton ace picked up the injury in the 37th minute following a challenge by Michael Duberry after the 21-year-old fired over from close range.
He was clutching his foot in agony but returned to the field after receiving treatment.
But Rooney was substituted at half-time for debutant Nani which sparked fears over the seriousness of the injury.
After the game Ferguson said he was hopeful Rooney's recovery time would be quicker than when he suffered a similar injury last season, but his worst fears have since been realised.
"It was a painful blow and Wayne could not really stand on his foot. I do not think it is as serious an injury as when he broke his metatarsal," Ferguson said.
"But his foot did start to swell and it was not worth starting him in the second half."
Rooney will also not be involved in England's friendly against Germany later this month, leaving England boss Steve McLaren short on options up front.
Fellow first-choice forward Michael Owen is still recovering from a thigh injury and several others are short on match practice.
Tottenham Hotspur's Darren Bent only came on as a second-half substitute at the weekend and Peter Crouch was not even included in Liverpool's match-day squad.