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.

Ferguson is not believed to be upset with Capello, but the workload may cost him his most prolific striker at Wolves this evening (5.30pm), when an obvious replacement in Owen has just been ruled out for the season.

“We didn’t speak to England to ensure he wouldn’t play the full game but there were some changes made and I thought Rooney would have been one of them, particularly as he went into the game with a small injury,” said Ferguson. “It is disappointing.

“When you are playing on that pitch for almost an hour on Sunday and then nearly a full game on Wednesday it’s far too much. Now he is a doubt for Wolves.”

Not that Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is complaining. “I would prefer him not to play and to be left at home in Manchester,” he deadpanned yesterday. “In my opinion he is brilliant. The goal that he scored recently against Arsenal epitomised him. He is world class. He is the complete player. I just love his attitude.

“He plays like he is playing in the school playground. He has matured and has got better and better and he is red hot at the moment.”

Although Federico Macheda is set for a return to training after a calf injury and Owen Hargreaves could make his reserve-team comeback against Manchester City at Altrincham on Thursday, it would hardly compensate for Rooney missing out at Molineux.

Victory will take United two points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“Going top is an incentive,” said Ferguson. “It knocks an away game out of the way too because we will only have four left after that. Winning tomorrow is a big issue for us.”

Ferguson also admitted he should have used Michael Owen more often than he did this season, after he picked up a hamstring injury at the Carling Cup final which has ended his season.

The final was only Owen’s 11th start in all competitions, and Ferguson said: “I know I have not used him as much as I should have,” said Ferguson. “That is a lot to do with Rooney’s form and our choice of playing one striker. He has been unfortunate. But we recognise he made a great contribution.”