Rooney To Miss Three Weeks With Injury

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will be out of action for up to three weeks because of an ankle injury.

The 24-year-old has endured a poor start to the season and was substituted in the second half of Sunday's 2-2 draw with Bolton after getting injured.

As well as not making United's trip to Valencia, Rooney will miss Saturday's league game at Sunderland and England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the latest prognosis on Rooney ahead of their Champions League Group C match against a Valencia side currently top of La Liga.

The striker's absence against Montenegro on 12 October will be a blow to England boss Fabio Capello, considering the injuries to Frank Lampard, Theo Walcott, Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora.

However, it is further bad news for Rooney whose private life has come under close scrutiny in recent weeks and whose form has wobbled in the opening period of the Premier league campaign.

The former Everton forward has only scored once this season - from the penalty spot - compared with three in a week for Michael Owen and seven so far this season for top scorer Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov.

Ferguson even admitted last week that the player was feeling the strain of being in the media spotlight after allegations about his private life.

Former England boss Kevin Keegan, working as a TV pundit for Sunday's match at the Reebok, said after the draw: "His performance at Bolton tells me his confidence is shot."

Rooney will join United team-mate Ryan Giggs on the sidelines with the Welshman ruled out for a fortnight after injuring a hamstring at the weekend.

The Old Trafford club opened their European campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Rangers and on Wednesday face the Spanish club who began their Champions League quest with a 4-0 defeat of Turkish team Bursaspor.