Eindhoven - Manchester United skipper Wayne
Rooney will miss the English club's Champions
League group match opener at PSV Eindhoven on
Tuesday with new summer signing Memphis Depay
looking to spark at his former club.
Rooney picked up a hamstring injury training ahead
of Saturday's 3-1 win over Liverpool and will not be
rushed back by manager Louis van Gaal for the
European group stage opener.
United make their return to the Champions League
away to PSV in a clash which will see Dutch winger
Depay return to the club he left in the summer for
25 million ($38.6m).
Depay has struggled since his arrival in United with
French teenager Anthony Martial's goalscoring
debut against Liverpool on Saturday distracting
from the 21-year-old's struggles.
Also read: Depay keen to prove worthy of United's
No. 7 shirt
Depay should get a warm reception in the Philips
Stadion having helped PSV to a first title win in
seven years last season.
The forward was the Dutch league's top scorer with
22 goals, but United fans are yet to see the same
form of a player that shone for PSV and the
Netherlands at the World Cup.
A return to the ground where Depay spent nine
years could help kickstart his United career,
although van Gaal could be in for a rough time from
the home fans having played for and coached rivals
Ajax.
Depay's place however could be under threat
following the impressive performance of Ashley
Young off the bench on Saturday and Morgan
Schneiderlin could come in for either Michael
Carrick or Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Martial could make his his first start for Manchester
United with Rooney ruled ou.
The 19-year-old, signed from Monaco on transfer
deadline day for a reported fee of 36 million ($55
million, 49 million euros), stepped off the bench to
seal United's third goal in a 3-1 win.
Pressure is mounting on van Gaal to hand the
youngster his first start, but the United manager
could opt to protect the rising star and keep him on
the bench.
English forward James Wilson and Belgian
midfielder Andreas Pereira, who was also signed
from PSV, have also both been added to the squad
for the trip to the Netherlands.
Pereira suffered an injury while away with Brazil's
Under-23 side but is fit for selection again.
PSV coach Phillip Cocu's side should not be under-
estimated as they are top seeds in the group and
have an unbeaten start to the season.
They warmed up for the clash with Luuk de Jong
scoring a first-half hat-trick in a 6-0 win over
Cambuur in the Dutch league at the weekend.
The sides clashed at the same stage of the
2000/2001 competition, with honours shared --
United losing 3-1 on the road, turning the tables
with the same scoreline at Old Trafford.
PSV gained automatic qualification as Dutch
champions, while van Gaal's United advanced
through the play-off route 7-1 against Club Brugge.
No comments:
Post a Comment