Fergie rues curse of the Pharaohs on Rooney

ALEX FERGUSON feels Wayne Rooney asked far too much of himself by playing almost all of England’s friendly with Egypt after Sunday’s draining Carling Cup final.

Ferguson has major reservations over the Wembley pitch and cited it as one of the main reasons he left Rooney out of his starting line-up to face Aston Villa. In the end, Rooney played for almost an hour of the showpiece clash after Michael Owen was forced off with a hamstring injury that has ended his season.

Rooney was then part of Fabio Capello’s line-up, and remained on the pitch until he was replaced by Carlton Cole four minutes from time.