Louis van Gaal has confirmed that struggling striker Wayne Rooney will be available for the game against Southampton.
The forward has not scored a league goal this season and he will be hoping to end the wait against Southampton, who have not been as convincing defensively as they were last season. He has done exceedingly well for the England national team and recently became the record goal scorer for England with his goals in the recent Euro 2016 qualification matches. He has also found the back of the net in the Champions League games.
However, the manager will especially want the player to perform well in the domestic competitions. Winning back the league title is one of the important priorities for United and they need a player like Rooney to be firing on all cylinders. The pressure on the England international has been lifted somewhat by the arrival of Anthony Martial, who has already opened his league record by scoring against archrivals Liverpool. Van Gaal also revealed that defender Phil Jones should be back in action sooner rather than later. The former Blackburn Rovers defender has been struggling with thrombosis. The 23-year-old has been able to make no appearances for United in this campaign.
“Shaw’s injury is a big loss but Rooney is fit to play against Southampton and Jones has trained with the group.I called Luke Shaw last night. He sounds very strong, which is amazing for me – a good signal. His family is there… He shall come back tomorrow and there will be a long period of rehabilitation.It’s a big loss for the team, I already said it shall be the season of Luke Shaw, now it’s nearly finished. We built up a strong partnership with him and Memphis which is disappointing,” said Van Gaal.