And he’s gone. It seems a cruel fate that after a recent turnaround in his performances, Wayne Rooney suffered a knee injury that rules him out for at least six weeks.
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Rooney had a torrid start to 2015-16 and scored just one goal in his opening five games. Worse was still to come as his next 10-games saw him find the back of net again just once. In the end Rooney finished the first-half of the season with a measly two goals in 15 league games.This gave him a minutes per goal ratio of 637. However, the cliched phrase ‘New Year, New Me’ could not be any more true with the United hitman. So far in 2016 Rooney has scored five goals in seven league matches before his injury, recording a minute per goal ratio of 126.
The first-half of the season saw Rooney average 2.2 shots per game, while in 2016 that figure has improved to 3.6 shots per game. Oulala’s stats show that Rooney’s conversion rate had also dramatically improved. From a lowly six percent rate strike rate in the first-half of the season, all the way up to 20 percent in 2016. As expected, his shot accuracy is up by seven percent from 43 to 50.
Oulala’s stats can also reveal that another area where Rooney has contributed more is in his chances created. Since the New Year the No.10 has gained a far better average of key passes per game (1.9 to 1.1). He also has more assists in seven games than he did in 15 (three to one).
His pass completion rate has remained at a solid 82 percent.
Rooney’s injury will see him unavailable for England’s upcoming friendlies against Germany and the Netherlands in March. It will also seem him miss at least six matches for United, including two Europa League fixturess. After one win in four Premier League outings, a Europa League triumph is perhaps United’s best chance of securing a Champions League spot. As the Red Devils’ top scorer, Rooney’s injury will be a real blow to those aspirations.
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