Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has been forced to cancel his first appearance on BBC’s Match of the Day due to a painful back injury.
The former United and England player, who coached Derby County and DC United after his career, is currently out of work following a demanding 15-game spell at Birmingham City at the end of 2023. There has been much speculation about Rooney’s next career move and it seemed he would want to try his hand at being a pundit after he was recently seen giving his views on Premier League Productions’ coverage of the English top flight.
He was due to appear as a guest pundit on Match of the Day tonight, analysing highlights from United’s tie with Bournemouth, but a last-minute back injury forced him to withdraw.
Rooney expressed his disappointment on social media, posting: “I’m so sorry I can’t make my debut on the cult show @BBCMOTD tonight. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl.”
He added: “Unfortunately I have suffered a painful back injury whilst on holiday with my family but I look forward to being part of the team in the near future. Good luck to @GaryLineker and the boys on tonight’s show and see you soon.”
Instead, former pros Gary Lineker, Martin Keown and Micah Richards were on the panel, as Rooney had noted, reports the Manchester Evening News. The official Match of the Day X Twitter account responded expectantly to Rooney’s comment: “Looking forward to having you on soon.”
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Following his release from Birmingham, speculation mounted whether Rooney would switch to boxing after reports emerged of talks with influencer boxing production company Misfits, but the 38-year-old insisted his aim was a return to management.
“You never know,” he said on Overlap. “They’ve been in touch and asked the question, but I think right now I want to focus on getting back into management, not boxing.”
“There were obviously a few. There were outsiders and it was all over the news. I want to focus on getting back into management, that’s my focus.”
