United look to avoid fourth loss in a row against Welsh side
David Moyes revealed yesterday that Wayne Rooney had been sent away on warm-weather training in a bid to overcome his groin injury.
The 28-year-old England striker has missed United’s past two games with a groin injury but it was hoped he could return to face Swansea City tonight as the Premier League champions look to end a three-game losing streak in all competitions.
However, Moyes said Rooney had been sent away to sunnier climes with a fitness coach and his family before a hoped-for return at Chelsea on January 19.
“Wayne has been sent away on a sort of hot-weather break,” said Moyes, who did not specify where the training would take place.
“His groin has not recovered yet. We have sent the fitness coach with him and he is away with his family.
“I gave him a bit of a break, I always hoped I would be able to do it at some point in the season but his groin is not as good as we hoped at this point.”
The under-pressure manager also said United would be without Robin van Persie, their other star striker, for the Swansea match, with the Dutchman still sidelined by a thigh problem.
Van Persie has not played since suffering the injury when he came on as a substitute in United’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on December 10, three days after he made his comeback against Newcastle United following groin and toe problems.
The latest injury news adds to Moyes’s burden as United head into this weekend’s fixtures 11 points behind leaders Arsenal, with their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Uefa Champions League also under threat.
Moyes, in his first season as United manager, said he is trying to keep things in perspective. “You get three points for winning and don’t get more,” he said.
“Obviously if you are not winning it can affect confidence and is a big part of football but prior to that we won six games and we were not talking about confidence in the game after that.
“You can lose games in football and we will try to get back to winning ways, try to get back and get those three points.
“I think the performances have been fine. There have been things gone against us, decisions which haven’t helped but I think we have played pretty well.
“We need to be more clinical and get into the final third and make things count.”
Meanwhile, Moyes was yesterday charged by the Football Association with misconduct for his post-match comments about referee Andre Marriner after Tuesday’s 2-1 League Cup defeat at Sunderland.
Moyes had said: “We’ve got an opposition to play and sometimes we’ve got other people to play at the moment.”
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