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Injury triggers more transfer speculation

Manchester-United-Training-and-Press-Conference-BangkokWe all love some transfer gossip, don’t we? Better yet, some transfer gossip sprinkled with conspiracy theories is what really gets some of us – or at least the tabloids – moist with anticipation and when it comes to conspiracy theories, they don’t come much juicer than the latest chapter in Wayne Rooney’s troublesome summer.

The United striker flew back home yesterday from United’s Far East Tour, barely a day after arriving in Bangkok alongside his teammates, after picking up what the club described as a hamstring injury in his first – and only – training session in Bangkok.

Considering that Rooney has been pretty much on and off the departures list at Old Trafford over the last couple of months, the news of his return home was quickly seized upon by tabloids who claim, almost unanimously, that the striker will indeed leave Manchester United this summer and that the injury was created ad hoc by the club.

The Sun reports United’s statement: “Following a scan on a hamstring injury sustained in training, it’s been decided Wayne should return home immediately for further assessment. It’s anticipated he’ll be unavailable for a month,” but also highlights that “the distance between Rooney and the club could be significant.”

Rooney, who could be sidelined for up to a month, had returned to training in his best shape for years, something the Daily Mail seized upon, reporting the striker’s message on Facebook: “Gutted to have picked up a niggling injury especially as training was going so well, heading back to Manchester to have it assessed fully but early indications are nothing to worry about.”

Much like the Sun, the Mail also speculates that Rooney’s injury could see him moving a step closer to leaving the club, while the Daily Star claims that “Rooney still wants out” as David Moyes has allegedly failed to convince the striker that his future lies at Old Trafford, despite reiterating that he’s not for sale.

Elsewhere, the Guardian and the Independent have the latest on Thiago, with both newspapers reporting that the Barcelona midfielder is poised to join Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, after the former Barcelona manager has issued a sort of “It’s Thiago or nothing ultimatum” to his board.

As United look set to miss out on yet another midfielder (has anybody kept count throughout the years? Because, I stopped a long time ago), Gary Neville has warned the club must hit the ground running or else they could be “finished” in the title race.

Speaking to the Mirror, Neville said:  “Where we lost out to Mourinho teams at United in those early years was because we left ourselves too much to do,”

“We weren’t slow starters, but we weren’t at our peak form from September to December.

“When we did get into our stride in January, February and March, the problem in the Mourinho years was we were too far behind to mount a challenge,” continued the former United captain.

“So the critical thing this year will be to make sure that, at the turn of the year, you’re in contention. Make sure you don’t fall back too far behind.

“You wouldn’t want to fall too far behind a Mourinho team because they would have the nerve inside the club to withstand the pressure.

“Likewise with United – you wouldn’t want to give that group of United players a lead, you really wouldn’t.”

Red Nev said that while all the pressure will be on Manchester United, David Moyes is the right man to for the job: “You look at David Moyes at Manchester United. He’s an experienced manager, who’s earned this opportunity and he’s got a fantastic group of players who know how to win.”

Dan