Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that England striker Wayne Rooney was 'devastated' after being hit with a three-game ban.
Ferguson explains why striker was omitted against Reds
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Wayne Rooney was 'devastated' after being hit with a three-game ban in competitive international fixtures.
The Manchester United striker was sent off in England's final Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro last week with Uefa subsequently dishing out a lengthy suspension.
That means the 25-year-old is set to miss the entire group stage of next summer's tournament in Poland and Ukraine, raising question marks over whether he should even be included in Fabio Capello's squad.
The Football Association can appeal against Rooney's ban in an attempt to reduce the punishment and Ferguson accepts it has been a 'bad' week for the striker.
The Red Devils manager omitted the England international from his starting line-up against Liverpool on Saturday and admitted the one-time Everton youngster was left 'devastated'.
Devastated
"Wayne has had a bad week," Ferguson told
Sky Sports. "He's devastated with the suspension. I must say that.
"When you think about it he could quite feasibly miss the European Championships because it's never certain you'll qualify from a group.
"It's been a bad week for him really. I felt with these circumstances that he's better off starting from the bench.
"He can handle that (the crowd). He's such a determined, brave lad. That wouldn't be a bother for Wayne at all.
"I just felt that in terms of putting out a team that's at the most confident was the important thing and Wayne's had a bad blow this week with suspension."
