Kai Rooney heled Manchester United Under-16s win the Premier League Shield this week, but has now revealed he’ll miss the remaining of the season through injury.
Wayne Rooney’s oldest son has been playing for mutiple age-range teams with the Red Devils this season, producing eye catching performances for the Under-18s.
Still just 16, he was in motion for the Under-16 side on Tuesday as they beat Burnley 2-0 and won the Premier League Shield in the method.
England and Manchester United legend Wayne posted an image with Kai, wife Colleen and younger son Cass celebrating the victory.
Nonetheless, the memorable week has taken an unlucky turn as Kai now reveals that he is not going to play again this season as a consequence of injury.
The teenager posted on Instagram on Thursday: ‘Disenchanted to be out for the remaining of the season. Back stronger next pre-season.’
The character of the injury has not been disclosed, but clearly it’s serious enough to maintain him out for an prolonged time frame.
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The injury issue means Rooney is not going to be involved in Manchester United-18s bid for FA Youth Cup glory in the approaching weeks.
He has been involved in Darren Fletcher’s side’s run to the semi-finals up to now, where they tackle Crystal Palace.
There’s also a Premier League Cup final to return against the Eagles and a battle at the highest of the Under-18s Premier League with Manchester City.
It should come as a blow to the talented teenager, but after an encouraging season within the United academy, he’ll expect to return next season and play a major role within the Under-18s side.
Speaking last summer, Wayne explained how he tries to not get too involved in his son’s development, keen to maintain the pressure off and just let him play naturally.
‘I just let him play. He just plays and that’s all he’s done during his time playing,’ the 40-year-old told the BBC.
‘I feel it’s very unfair for anyone to expect him to go and do every kind. He’s just playing, he’s a 15-year-old boy playing his football, having fun with it. In fact he gets different attention to quite a lot of his team-mates but I feel he handles that actually well.
‘He has great coaches at Manchester United, so I take a stand off approach. I speak to him, but for me it’s all about his mentality and his mindset, to be certain that he keeps having fun with it – that’s the important thing for me.’
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