Rooney home from hospital after treatment for wound so deep it 'surprised' surgeons

Wayne Rooney has returned home from hospital after being treated for the nasty injury he sustained during Manchester United's 3-2 win over Fulham on Saturday.
Surgeons said they were 'surprised' at the depth of the cut, which looks set to keep the England star out for a month.
Rooney remained in hospital overnight as medical staff assessed the extent of the injury he sustained when Hugo Rodallega landed on him in stoppage time.

Ouch: Wayne Rooney suffered a nasty leg injury and could miss a month of action

 Immediately after the game, Sir Alex Ferguson said it was 'a very bad one'.

It seems inevitable he will miss England's opening World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine next month.
Roy Hodgson is due to name his squad on Thursday, at which point it will be surely too early for any risk to be taken with Rooney's recovery.
The one reason for optimism is that when Nani needed stitches in a nasty wound, admittedly below the knee, inflicted by Jamie Carragher at Liverpool in March 2011, Ferguson immediately put the recovery timescale at three weeks, yet the Portugal winger was back in action nine days later.
With the start of another Champions League campaign and a trip to Liverpool looming straight after the international break, any reduction in that four-week timescale would be a bonus for Ferguson.

Pain game: Rooney blocks Rodallega's shot but ends up cutting his thigh

Down and out: Rooney hadn't been on the pitch all that long, but was forced off on a stretcher

Rodallega has been cleared of any blame for the incident, which happened as Rooney attempted to close down a free-kick that had just rebounded back to the Colombian.
The sheer force of Rodallega landing on Rooney caused the damage and it appeared the Fulham man was wearing studs, rather than the blades some have argued cause greater injury.
Rooney's condition helped deflect attention away from the fact he did not feature in the United starting line-up on Saturday, although Ferguson was at pains to stress there are 'no problems' with the forward.
Instead of being paired with new signing Robin van Persie, Rooney was left on the bench as Ferguson kept faith with Shinji Kagawa following that dire defeat at Everton on Monday.
Rooney was amongst those to perform well below expectations at Goodison Park and many fans yesterday immediately hailed Ferguson's decision as the right one.
However, it must have been a blow to the striker's pride if nothing else.

Hospitalised: Rooney is taken to the ambulance after suffering the injury

And with the transfer window due to close on Friday, there is bound to be some talk of Rooney's future, if only outside the club.
Certainly Ferguson was quick to quell such talk even as Rooney was heading to hospital.
'He and Robin van Persie are needing games,' said the Scot.
'To start the two of them would have been too much. Wayne understood that.
'There is no problem. He played his part when he came on.'
Rooney did have just three pre-season outings, although including the Everton game, did have five hours' action under his belt prior to kick-off, significantly more than Van Persie, who admits he is still a couple of weeks away from full fitness.
The Dutchman expects Rooney to be his main strike partner this season.
'Wayne is a world-class player,' said the Dutchman.
'He can give you everything; assists, goals. He is quick, technical. He loves to link up as well.
'I am looking forward to that combination of course.
'I am a football fan. I like to enjoy my work. With Wayne and all the others I think I can do that.'