Manchester United take on Feyenoord in the Europa League in Rotterdam on Thursday night, but Wayne Rooney hasn’t made the travelling 20-man squad.
The United captain has come under fire from sections of media and supporters in recent weeks due to his performances, but that isn’t likely to be the reasoning behind Jose Mourinho’s decision to leave him behind.
Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard have also been left out, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan misses out through injury.
In turn, it’s safe to say that Mourinho is merely rotating his squad and affording certain individuals a break from action rather than it being anything more suspect and leaving Rooney out due to his displays on the pitch.
Nevertheless, the response to Rooney’s exclusion has been mixed with many questioning his absence for such an important game, while others have revealed their joy that he won’t be featuring, as seen below.
It will be a concern for the England international though, as ultimately should the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba to name but a few impress in his absence, the case to leave him on the bench moving forward could become a lot stronger.
Full United squad to face Feyenoord:
De Gea, Romero, Johnstone; Darmian, Bailly, Blind, Fosu-Mensah, Rojo, Smalling; Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Memphis, Pogba, Schneiderlin, Young; Ibrahimovic, Martial, Rashford.
@ManUtd no Rooney ??
— MARTIAL (@TotallyUnited2) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd so happy Rooney won’t be near the pitch
— Assad S. Khan (@Assadk) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd no rooney, watch us play 50% better without him
— Mark (@ThatGuyMartial) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd Finally Rooney dropped.
— Sharif ? (@5harif_Uddin) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd No Rooney? ?
— RED-DEVIL ? (@Spartans62) September 14, 2016
@ManUtd if Pogba plays that no.10 position and plays well dont think we’ll see Rooney playing any time soon
— Joe Wilson (@JoeWils60944901) September 14, 2016