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Rooney suffered slight injury, not expected to miss next match

Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Wayne Rooney was removed from Saturday's match because of a minor injury, manager Louis van Gaal revealed.

The Manchester United captain managed to play 68 minutes before Van Gaal removed him in favour of Memphis Depay, with Rooney appearing to wince as trainers gathered around him on the touchline during a 1-1 draw with Leicester City.

Van Gaal said he could have elected to take Anthony Martial off rather than Rooney because of the pair's inability to get beyond the Leicester backline, but chose the English international after he was seen limping on the pitch.

"Wayne was a little bit injured," Van Gaal told reporters after the match. "You saw him limping. I also wanted to change a striker because they were not running in behind.

"I could have taken off Martial because he didn't do that either, so that is why I changed Rooney, because he was a little bit injured.

Though he did not disclose the exact nature of the injury, Rooney appeared to be favouring his leg when he came off. Van Gaal, however, indicated that he does not expect Rooney to miss the next match against West Ham United at Old Trafford.

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