Wayne Rooney is a major doubt for England’s forthcoming World Cup qualifying games against Moldova and Ukraine. The 27 year-old striker was accidentally caught by the studs of Manchester United and England team-mate Phil Jones during a training session yesterday (who incidentally was injured in the first half of the Liverpool-United game on Sunday and could miss the qualifiers as well).

His absence will be a huge blow for Three Lions coach Roy Hodgson as he prepares his squad for a vital week. He had planned on pairing Rooney with Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, but will have to return to the drawing board. Early indications suggest that Danny Welbeck or Rickie Lambert may now get the nod.

Rooney’s summer has been dominated by transfer speculation but he appears to have resolved his differences at Manchester United. There was a general feeling that the England fans, and United fans, may soon get to see a fully fit and firing Rooney making this latest injury set-back all-the-more frustrating.

Moldova visit Wembley on Friday evening before England take on Ukraine on Tuesday.