Wayne Rooney has been warned he faces a career-long battle with his weight as he fights for a future at Manchester United alongside Robin van Persie.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who has always paid close attention to family history when assessing the long-term physical condition of players, is putting the frighteners on 26-year-old Rooney in an attempt to get him focused on forming an attacking dream partnership with United’s new $35 million Dutchman.
The United manager believes his two superstar strikers can work together, but he is aware it depends on Rooney working extra hard on maintaining his perfect fighting weight.
Rooney is out for four weeks with a badly gashed leg, but there were concerns before the injury about his overall level of fitness, with England manager Roy Hodgson disappointed about the player’s condition during Euro 2012 after he had taken time off to relax at the end of the league season.
He admits signing Teddy Sheringham at the age of 30 only after noting the striker’s father had not gained an ounce of fat in middle age. Unfortunately for Rooney, his gene pool is different, as the infamous picture of his parents emerging from the sea a few years ago suggest.
Ferguson said: “Wayne is no Ryan Giggs. Ryan has never put a pound on in his whole life. Wayne is a boy that needs games, you can see that from the frame he’s got. He is stocky, strong and really needs games, simple as that.
The United manager believes his two superstar strikers can work together, but he is aware it depends on Rooney working extra hard on maintaining his perfect fighting weight.
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