Wayne Rooney was forced to leave the field with blood pouring
from his face after suffering a nasty eye injury during Everton’s 2-1
win over Bournemouth.
Rooney was elbowed in the face by Bournemouth defender Simon Francis
following a challenge in the air and he suffered a cut around his eye.
Rooney needed lengthy treatment from the club’s medical staff before he
was allowed to return to the field.
Rooney protested heavily to referee Martin Atkinson over the challenge
but the referee refused to hand out any punishment to Francis. Then two minutes
before half-time, Rooney’s wound re-opened following a challenge with
Adam Smith. Blood streamed down the former England skipper’s face and he
needed more treatment from the Everton medics.
The experienced forward eventually left the field on 55 minutes.
His manager Ronald Koeman is hopeful that he will be fit for their next
game against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League on Thursday.
Koeman said: “We knew it would be difficult for the
second half. It cost time in the first half but I had to change him.
Hopefully he will be OK for the next game.”
Former Premier League referee Graham Poll believes Atkinson made the
right decision to keep Francis on the field following the nasty looking
challenge. He said Francis did not deliberately inflict injury on
Rooney.
Poll, speaking on BT Sport, said: “It’s not deliberate. If a player
wants to do someone with an arm, they tend to clench their fist to give
it power.”
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