Player Profile

Rooney’s 34 goals for Manchester United and mesmeric performances as a one-man wrecking ball earned him the prestigious PFA and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year awards.

While his shoulders are broad enough to carry the hopes of a nation, his knees, groin and ankle have not been as robust.

His injury troubles began in February with inflammation in his knees, but it did not stop him from scoring 26 goals in a 24-game period until the end of March. He then sprained his ankle in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich, aggravated the injury after returning weeks ahead of schedule, and ended the season with a groin problem.

The 24-year-old’s build-up to the 2006 World Cup was also dominated by injury concerns after he suffered a fractured metatarsal six weeks before England’s opening game against Paraguay. Rooney missed that match and was sent off in the quarter-final defeat by Portugal for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.

He is England’s youngest ever scorer, finding the net against Macedonia in 2003 at the age of 17 years and 317 days, and contributed nine goals in as many games for England in the 2010 qualifying campaign.

Rooney recently revealed an ambition to one day move into football management, and is taking his coaching badges this year. He attributes his newfound maturity to the birth of his son, Kai, last November.