Wayne Rooney played for England against Scotland on Wednesday despite his absence from Manchester United's pre-season games. Photograph: Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto Ltd/AllstarDavid Moyes plans to assess the fitness of Wayne Rooney before deciding whether or not to include the striker in his first Premier League match as Manchester United manager.
Moyes's first summer at Old Trafford has been overshadowed by talk of Rooney's future, with the England international the subject of two rejected bids from Chelsea and said to be unhappy with comments made by the new manager during pre-season about his status within the squad.
Moyes insists Rooney is not for sale, while injuries have restricted the player from making a meaningful pre-season appearance for United. He did turn out for England against Scotland on Wednesday night, though, and Moyes is keen to check out his condition before deciding on whether to involve him on Saturday against Swansea City.
"[There are] no more developments, we don't want any more, because we've told everybody he's not for sale," he told Sky Sports News.
"I think I need to see how he is when we get back. When I get back I will try and assess him. I watched the game last night, I thought for the 65 minutes he played he did well, ran around and got himself some fitness, but it was his first real outing in a competitive game."
Moyes's captain, Nemanja Vidic, is not concerning himself too much with talk of Rooney's future. Rooney trained with United's reserves last week – the club said it was at his own request – and talk of a move refuses to go away.
"I think he has trained very well," Vidic said. "He had a few small injuries in the last few weeks, but he has trained very well. He didn't have as many games but the season is long and I think he will deal with it.
"To be fair, I am not worried as much [about his future]. Wayne is training well, the club is strong and know what they are doing. I have trust in the manager."
Moyes has seen two bids for Barcelona's Cesc Fábregas turned down as he looks to strengthen his new squad and, as things stand, Wilfried Zaha and the unknown defender Guillermo Varela remain the only new arrivals.
"I'm confident we will have players in," Moyes said. "We're involved in several players we are looking at and that will continue. Will we get them before the deadline? I hope so. We're working very hard to do so."
Despite the relative lack of transfer action, it has been a summer of extreme change at Old Trafford, with Moyes replacing Sir Alex Ferguson after the 71-year-old's retirement. Ferguson is now a director at the club and Moyes has spoken to him regularly during the off-season.
"I went to see him at his house and I speak to him quite regularly on the phone," Moyes said. "It's good to have someone I can go to if I need any advice, especially at a club like Manchester United. He's great and he's someone I look forward to taking advice from in the future."
