Just days after the release of Nike’s new Rooney Total 90 Laser Video Viral, featured here on footy-boots.com, the Manchester United and England striker’s foot injury curse has struck again.
Last year footy-boots.com raised questions about the banning of bladed football boots, if only to protect our national team stars from the dreaded metatarsal injury that has hampered preparations for the previous two World Cup campaigns as well as Euro 2004.
The hairline fracture Rooney sustained yesterday following an innocuous challenge by Reading’s Adidas +Predator Absolute wearing defender Michael Duberry. The injury occurred whilst Rooney was wearing Nike’s lightweight Total 90 Laser football boots. However hard pitches and a more intensive training regime have also been cited as a reason for the spate of foot fractures in recent years.
As footy-boots.com discussed last year, the regularity of this type of injury has coincided with the introduction of the bladed football boot. Sir Alex Ferguson must be pulling his hair out again, and as a critic of bladed football boots, he bans his players from wearing them.
Rooney’s foot injury nightmare began at Euro 2004, during the quarter final against host nation Portugal. Following his first metatarsal injury, Nike remodelled the design, giving more protection to the front area of the foot. The result was the Nike Air Zoom Total Supremacy. However, only four days later Rooney second metatarsal injury struck at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, leaving him with little time to recover for last year’s World Cup in Germany.
Rooney will join Newcastle’s Joey Barton on the sidelines; Barton fracturing metatarsals in a pre-season friendly at Carlisle, whilst wearing Rooney’s football boot of choice, the Nike T90 Laser. Depending on which paper you read, Rooney could be out for anything between two and three months, ruling him out of the potentially decisive Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia at Wembley next month.
Football boot brands are producing often fantastic looking, lightweight football boots!but should they be focusing more on protecting the players’ tools of the trade!.their feet. Rooney’s latest injury means this debate has reared its head again!
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G$Money said: Comment 13 August, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
No matter how much you want to deny it, Total 90s MUST have some part to play. Euro 2004, Portugal, what was the big new boot? The new Total 90 III, Rooney fractured his metatarsal in the fourth or fifth competitive game wearing them, okay coincidence maybe. April 2006, Stamford Bridge, what boot was Rooney debuting? The new Air Zoom Total 90 Supremacy, fractured and chipped metatarsals in the first competitive match, strange coincidence. August 2007, Old Trafford, what new Nike boot has been creating all the buzz during the whole summer? The new Total 90 Laser, supposedly the most accurate boot around. Fractured metatarsal in his third or fourth game wearing them in a competitive match, no more coincidence. Rooney’s feet must obviously not be liking the change of the Total 90 boots. I think that Rooney should seriously sit down and look at the trend between him using the new Total 90 boots for one of the first competitive games and when the injuries took place.
Doug said: Comment 13 August, 2007 @ 5:59 pm
It has a lot more to do with 170+ lb. defenders sprinting and stepping on another player’s foot than it does any boot.
I agree that these boots should be tailored more towards protection and adding some forefoot cushioning while maintaining light weight and water retention.