Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney ready to return against West Ham and has Irons boss Slaven Bilic sweating
* Wayne Rooney played for Manchester United's Under 21s on Monday
* The Reds skipper is set for a bench role in the cup replay with West Ham
* And Irons boss Slaven Bilic is worried about Rooney's possible impact
Wayne Rooney is ready to return for Manchester United in the crucial FA Cup quarter-final replay against West Ham tonight after being included in the squad.
Rooney travelled to London with the rest of Louis van Gaal’s players yesterday and is set to be named on the bench after missing the last 12 games with a knee ligament injury.
The 30-year-old England captain had been out of action for two months before making a 60-minute comeback in a reserve-team game against Middlesbrough on Monday. That was enough to convince Van Gaal to name Rooney in his squad for a match United must win to maintain their hopes of lifting a trophy this season.
It is also good news for England manager Roy Hodgson as he prepares to name his Euro 2016 squad.
But it is the news West Ham manager Slaven Bilic would rather not hear. Some managers might see an opposition striker lacking fitness as a boost for their chances in an energy-sapping Cup-tie that could go the distance, but Bilic would rather avoid Rooney.
Wayne Rooney made his return from two-months out injured for Manchester United's Under 21 side
England’s record goalscorer has seen his place in the national side questioned with the form of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and even West Ham’s Andy Carroll putting him in the shade — and that added motivation for Rooney ups the worries for Bilic.
‘I would rather he didn’t play, whether 70 per cent — or 100 per cent fit,’ Bilic said. ‘I would rather he just watched the game.
‘I’m a massive Rooney fan since he first stepped on to the pitch in an Everton shirt. I can’t talk about Jimmy Greaves or Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore, but in my era Rooney is the best English player.’
United travel for the final Cup tie at the Boleyn Ground on the back of Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Tottenham and with fans fearing the latest slump in Van Gaal’s up- and-down season.
While Bilic concedes that United’s inconsistency means the fear factor surrounding the 20-time champions has evaporated, he is wary of Rooney and Co turning it back on in a flash.
United’s best moments of this season have come in adversity — and after the White Hart Lane thumping with Champions League qualification slipping further away, tonight could be another of those occasions. ‘They can change it around like a click, no time,’ Bilic said.
‘To get it (the fear factor) back on paper you need a good run, but during a game they can get it back just like that,’ he added, clicking his fingers. ‘What worries me a little is that every time they were in a bad moment they put in a result, every time — so make no mistake we know that.
‘Our players know who is coming and of course they are capable. They have played hundreds of games like tomorrow night.’
Diafra Sakho will be missing again after a scan revealed the severity of the knee injury which saw him fail to report to their team hotel before Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Arsenal.
Sakho was told he would be on the bench for the Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal but then insisted he was injured and did not join his team-mates at the hotel the night before the game.
‘The situation is very simple,’ Bilic said. ‘He reported the injury after training on Friday, then he was not in the squad and then yesterday (on Monday) he had a scan and it reported a little bit of a problem. He’s out for one week, hopefully not more than a week.’
With Rooney on the bench, Van Gaal must decide whether to keep faith with Marcus Rashford after taking the teenage striker off at half-time at Tottenham.
The United boss talked with Rashford after training on Monday to explain his decision which had surprised several United players, and not least because winger Ashley Young replaced him up front in the second half.
Another youngster, Tim Fosu-Mensah, was included in the 15-minute conversation. The Dutch teenager came off injured at White Hart Lane when the game was goalless, and United found themselves three goals down just eight minutes later.
United’s squad took the train down to London yesterday after the problems that resulted from their decision to fly south for the Tottenham game. Van Gaal and his players took two hours to travel by coach from Stansted Airport to their team hotel on Saturday. They were then delayed again by a road accident travelling to the match, causing the kick-off to be delayed by half an hour.
The Premier League will ask United to explain the reasons before deciding what action to take. The punishment for causing a 15-minute delay is a £5,000 fine.
Avram Grant is trying to convince United defender Tim Fosu-Mensah, 18, to play for Ghana. The highly-rated centre back has represented Holland at Under 19 level. He was born in Amsterdam, but his parents originally come from Ghana.
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