West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has said he hopes Wayne Rooney doesn't play against the Hammers, when both teams meet in the FA Cup replay at Upton Park tonight.
The United skipper has been out for over two months, missing United's last twelve matches. He is in line for a place on the bench tonight after his return with the U-21 team.
Bilic likened Rooney to England legends: Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moor. He also regards the England captain the best player of his personal (Bliic) footballing era.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the game, the Croatian said:
"I would rather he didn’t play tomorrow night. 70% (or) 100% fit, I would rather he watched the game.
"I am a massive Rooney fan – since he stepped on the pitch in an Everton shirt.
"He is for me… I don’t know, I can’t talk about Jimmy Greaves or Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore or,any of them - let’s say my football era,
Rooney is the best English player."
The FA Cup is Manchester United's last chance of winning a silverware this season.
United have had to rely on Marcus Rashford for the goals in Rooney's absence. But with the youngster staring a lot of matches in quick succession, fatigue and stress would have set in.
He was substituted at half time in the 3-0 loss to Spurs over the weekend. The return of Rooney would come as a relief to the team and the youngster.
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