Internationals bring injuries!

Internationals say one thing to me. Injuries and boy we could do without any more of those at the moment. It's not been long since Rooney returned from yet another broken foot and I for one would hate to see him pick up another injury. Having said that I think that we are better placed to cope this season than this time last year.

Let's have a quick look at the injury list. Carrick is out with a broken elbow, John O'shea has a strained hamstring, Louis Saha has yet another knee injury, Wes Brown has a knee injury, Owen Hargreaves has tendonitis, Van Der Sar has a dodgy ankle/foot and Park, Fost and Silvestre are out for the long term. For many other squads this would represent a crisis but Fergie has built a squad with real depth and strength, our first team still looks strong.

But what if we lose Ronaldo and Rooney? We all know how the results went when these guys were out and we cannot afford for this to happen again. These two add a new dynamic to the attacking line, they provide the movement and pace that we remember so well from last year and most of all they bring a desire to win.

Rooney's desire to play as well as he possibly can was demonstrated aptly on Saturday against Estonia. It was evident that he was a player desperate for a goal and lacking a little confidence. Some players would shy away from fully committing themselves, but not Rooney. He stayed late in training and practiced in a solitary fashion, testament to his drive to reach the top of his game. Then during the match I remember him giving the ball away with a sloppy pass, he ran all of 60 yards to put in a tackle to win the ball back. I remember thinking to myself, "that is Rooney all over" and of course his efforts were rewarded with a goal.

So onto the fixtures tonight, I hope our boys perform well, but more importantly I hope that that don't get injured. For there are more important battles to be faced in the weeks to come! Roll on the Premiership.