Evening News: Dempsey, Edu, and Rooney

Some brief tidbits on a couple Yanks in Europe and Wayne Rooney:

Dempsey Out for Europa League Quarterfinals

After helping his team to a 2-1 first leg victory over Wolfsburg, Clint Dempsey will have to watch the road leg from the sidelines.  It is being reported out of England that Deuce suffered a thigh injury against Wigan and, according to Roy Hodgson, could be out for "some time" (whatever that means).  Based on the reports, it doesn't seem to be any kind of injury that would potentially threaten Dempsey's World Cup dreams, but it's a shame nonetheless that he'll miss out on the decisive leg after playing such a key role in the last couple of Europa League matches.

We'll keep you updated on Dempsey's status in the coming weeks; check the weekly Yanks in Europe posts for any new developments.


Edu Shines in Rangers Win

Maurice Edu started and played the full 90 minutes for Rangers in their 3-1 home victory over Aberdeen, extending their lead atop the SPL table to an essentially insurmountable 13 points.  Mo was very active in the middle, making a number of well timed tackles and covering a lot of ground.  He distributed effectively throughout and looked comfortable on the ball, as well.  His effort in the midfield was rewarded in the 25th minute, when he sparked the attack that led to Rangers' opening goal.  Edu won a 50-50 challenge and pushed the ball forward to a teammate, whose square ball to Steven Davis was finished off beautifully:



All in all, it was a solid game for the former Toronto FC star, who now appears to be a lock for South Africa thanks to his recent contributions at the club and international level (not to mention Ricardo Clark's struggle to earn playing time at Frankfurt).  DaMarcus Beasley, meanwhile, was an unused substitute in this one.  DMB has found minutes hard to come by in recent weeks, but I'm still of the belief that he will be in South Africa thanks to his strong showing in Amsterdam last month and years of international experience.


Rooney Starts for United

After going down with an ankle injury in last Wednesday's first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern Munich, Wayne Rooney was expected to miss 2-4 weeks.  Today, however, just one week after that injury, Rooney started for Manchester United in their second leg against the Bavarian giants.  He played a part in a couple of United goals, but he limped off in the 55th minute, with Alex Ferguson later ruling him out of this weekend's match against Blackburn due to what he describes as "a burst blood vessel just below the ankle joint."

Rooney's surprisingly quick return could have international repercussions; playing so soon after the injury may have further aggravated it, lengthening the healing process to the point that he might not be at full strength for the World Cup opener.  It might not be much, but every little bit helps when you're trying to contain such a talented striker.  There were reports that Bob Bradley had been talking with Sir Alex Ferguson about some of the English players, so who knows, maybe the United skipper was covertly helping out the Yanks once more by feigning some desperation and adjusting his managerial tactics accordingly (I kid, I kid, though expect a conspiracy theory or two to bubble up from the oh-so-entertaining English press).

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