Rooney, Cleverley to miss England game

By foxsports
Published

Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley have been ruled out of England's friendly against Holland on Wednesday by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson confirmed Rooney will not be available for the match due to a throat infection while also ruling out young midfielder Cleverley.

"They'll be out," he told Sky Sports News after his side's Barclays Premier League win at Norwich on Sunday.

"Wayne has still not recovered from his throat infection, so hopefully we'll get him ready for next Sunday, when we have a big game at White Hart Lane."

Both players had been rated doubtful for Sunday's match on Friday, Rooney suffering from illness and Cleverley reportedly struggling with a recurrence of his recent ankle injury.

Neither featured in United's match-day squad at Carrow Road, where Ryan Giggs' added-time goal earned the Red Devils a 2-1 win.

The news is a blow for caretaker England boss Stuart Pearce, who yesterday lost Rooney's probable strike partner Darren Bent when he injured his ankle playing for Aston Villa at Wigan.