Jose Mourinho remained tight-lipped about Wayne Rooney’s drunken antics during the international break but has confirmed the Manchester United captain is free to play against Arsenal on Saturday.
Rooney’s conduct as England captain has been called into question after appearing on some of the national back pages after an alleged heavy drinking session at the England team hotel ended with Rooney mixing with guests as a strangers wedding.
The 31-year-old was ruled out of England’s encounter with Spain after slipping on a water bottle following their 3-0 win over Scotland last Friday before engaging in the drunken antics on Sunday night, two days before his teammates were due to play Spain.
Rooney reportedly ignored advice to call an end to his drinking session from England interim manager Gareth Southgate and is now facing a fight to keep the England candidacy.
Speaking for the first time on the matter ahead of United’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday, Mourinho was not interested in commenting on the controversy, but did declare Rooney as available for their must win match against one of their historic Premier league rivals.
“Over the last two or three days, nothing happened,” The Guardian quote Mourinho as saying on Friday. “He trained like everybody else, he wants to play like everybody else. He is ready.
“What happened in the national team, happened in the national team. I don’t comment. My players when they go to the national team, they belong to the national team. What happens there for good, for bad, I don’t interfere and I don’t like to comment.
“Sometimes they come back stronger than when they left us, because something good happened there, something positive for them, good performances, good results. Other times injuries, sometimes big injuries, other times frustrations because they didn’t play, because the rest was bad.
“In this case, we know what didn’t go well. But national teams in a different chapter and a chapter that is closed now until I think March or the end of February.”
Rooney has dropped down the pecking order for club and country since the start of the season but there is a chance the veteran will be recalled to the starting XI against Arsenal with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended.
Despite having to settle for time from the bench in recent months, only five players have registered more assists in the Premier League this season than Rooney (4), twice as many more as any other United player.
For more stats on Wayne Rooney, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
