Wayne Rooney pulls out of Match of the Day role as England great makes painful announcement

Wayne Rooney was set to make his Match of the Day debut on Saturday night

Former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was forced to withdraw from his debut appearance on BBC's Match of the Day due to a painful back injury.

The ex-United and England plaer, who went on to manage Derby County and DC United after hanging up his boots, is currently jobless after a challenging 15-game spell at Birmingham City in late 2023. There has been much speculation about Rooney's next career move, and it seemed he was set to try his hand at punditry, having recently been seen sharing his views on Premier League Productions' coverage of the English top-flight.

He was scheduled to appear as a guest pundit on tonight's Match of the Day, analysing highlights of United's draw against Bournemouth. However, a last-minute back injury forced him to pull out.

Rooney expressed his disappointment on social media, posting: "Gutted not to be making my debut on the iconic @BBCMOTD show tonight, it's something I have wanted to do since I was little."

He added: "Unfortunately I have sustained a painful back injury during a holiday with my family but I look forward to being part of the team in the near future. Good luck to @GaryLineker and the guys for tonight's show and see you soon."

Ex-pros Gary Lineker, Martin Keown, and Micah Richards were on the panel instead, as Rooney had noted, reports the Manchester Evening News. The official Match of the Day X Twitter account responded to Rooney's comment with anticipation: "Looking forward to having you on soon."

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Following his dismissal from Birmingham, speculation emerged over whether Rooney would crossover to boxing after reports of discussions with influencer boxing production Misfits, but the 38-year-old insisted that his aim is to return to management.

"You never know," he said on the Overlap. "They've been in touch and asked the question but I think at the minute I want to focus on getting back into management, not boxing.

"There's been a few obviously. Misfits have been and that's been all over over the news. I want to focus on getting back into management, that's my focus."