Wayne Rooney is slated to return to Manchester United on Sunday against West Ham, after missing five games due to a hamstring injury.

Alex Ferguson said last Friday that Rooney will be listed as a substitute for England’s friendly against Spain in Seville next Wednesday. Ferguson added that he will notify coach Fabio Capello about Rooney’s physical condition, and will leave it up to the coach how many minutes Rooney plays.

“I have not spoken to Fabio but I hope to do so in order to explain the situation,” Ferguson told Press Association. “He can then decide after dialogue with the physios whether it is worth taking Wayne to Seville. I have no strong issue with that. It is a question of whether he would play or be a substitute, which is the same position as I am in.”

 In spite of Rooney’s absence, Manchester has managed to win matches. The team advanced two points in the win-loss cards. However, the return of Rooney will provide an invaluable boost to the club.
 

He may no longer be the “Captain of England,” but Mr. David Beckham still wants to play for England. However, speculations seem to point Beckham in an uncertain direction.

Becks’ current contract with AC Milan in Italy seems like a move to make him qualified for the England selection for the 2010 World Cup finals. His transfer to San Siro is just a temporary arrangement before he returns to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the Major League Soccer season.

But, according to the Italian Gazzetta Dello, Beckham is very much enjoying his stint in Italy. The renowned athlete is even studying Italian, which indicates that he might want to stay in Italy for the long term.

If he stays, he will forfeit his pending contract with the LA Galaxy. This is something Beckham doesn’t want to do. Apart from getting a bad fall out from the team and the American press, he will contradict himself as he publicly made clear that he always wants to honor his contracts.


 

Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard has pleaded innocent on account of assault. Last month, Gerrard was charged for assaulting a man during a night club brawl.

The 28-year-old was accused of assaulting Marcus McGee at the Lounge Inn, Southport. The incident occurred after Gerrard scored two goals in Liverpool’s victory over Newcastle. Gerrard allegedly beat McGee with the help of teammates John Doran and Ian Smith.

Photographers were prevented from the magistrate’s court when Gerrard arrived for his hearing. Prosecutor Nick Evans requested that the case be heard on April, which gives him a 10-week preparation period. However, the magistrates decided to schedule the hearing on March 20.
 

Right after trading Dominic Oduro to New York for Dave van den Bergh, FC Dallas turned its attention to the MLS SuperDraft in hopes of finding youthful talent.

The franchise selected Michigan striker Peri Marosevic with the fifth overall pick last Thursday in St. Louis.

“We worked three months preparing for this draft,” said FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman. “When we got to this stage, we had a list of players that we wanted. And we were fortunate that it fell in for us that all three players that we drafted are players that were on our list.”

Marosevic scored 24 goals for Michigan in his three-year college career. “I am very excited to have been chosen by Dallas,” the nineteen-year old mentioned in an interview. “It will be difficult the first year as a rookie, but all I want to do is to work hard in practice, open the eyes of the coaches and show that I am ready to play professional.”

The top two picks of the draft were Akron’s Steve Zukuani and Oak Cliff’s Omar Gonzalez (respectively).

“It's funny, when we created our list, I had Peri No. 1 and Zukuani No. 2,” Hyndman narrates. “As it turns out, it worked out the other way. But the way the draft fell for us, Peri was still available when we had our pick.”