Wayne Rooney is one of the finest footballers England has ever produced. In fact, he still holds the record for the highest number of goals scored by an individual player for the English national team.
The period English football fans will never forget was when he got injured while playing for Manchester United a few months before the 2006 world cup in Germany.
Then, he was just 20 years old and the whole pressure was on him to deliver the goals for the English national team just like how he was delivery the goals for Manchester United.
English fans were heartbroken that their talisman was injured few months to 2006 World Cup until they learnt that the medical team in both Manchester United and the national team were able to find a way to make him fit for the tournament.
He joined the world cup team and reignited the hope of the fans on the team. Rooney featured in the second Group B game against Trinidad and Tobago.
The joy that Rooney was fully back for the team was almost cut short when he tore a groin in team training. But he didn’t yield to the pain of the injury as he continued with it until the last game of the team.
“I hit it [the ball] from the halfway line, trying to strike the crossbar and felt my groin tear”, he told the Sunday Times. “I knew straight away.”
“I got one of the physios to work quietly on it every day. I was taking painkillers. I didn’t want to say anything because a lot of people had put a lot of work into getting me fit.
“I didn’t report the injury until the tournament was over and there was a 6cm tear in my groin.”
Wayne Rooney and His Step of Shame
Unfortunately, Rooney left the squad and the entire tournament when he received a red card for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho as England crashed out against Portugal in the quarterfinals.
“Looking back, I should never have gone to that World Cup“, he told Sunday Times.
“If the Euros were going ahead this summer, I’d have said to Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford that if they were struggling in any way, not to push it.
“Of course it’s hindsight. Back then I was 20, it was my first World Cup and there was so much expectation on me.”
Rooney ended his 14-year international career after leaving Manchester United to join Everton football club in 2017. He was 31-year-old then and the fans were surprised that he had to walk away from the national team just to focus on club football.
The 34-year-old prolific striker is now the captain for Championship club Derby County.
