The Swedish striker shows no sign of letting up despite his age but the writing is on the wall for his Old Trafford captain who is not missed in the starting XI or squad.
The latest signal that Wayne Rooney serves no purpose for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United came not in a game when he played badly or appeared out of his depth but one in which he was completely absent.
The United squad stepped off the coach at Old Trafford for their Boxing Day fixture against Sunderland without Rooney, providing the decisive clue that he wouldn’t be involved. He had pulled up with an injury during Christmas Day training and Mourinho is already planning for Saturday's match at home to Middlesbrough without him.
"Honestly I don't think so,” he said of Rooney’s chances of recovering in time. “Let's see. It's not a big deal but in four days I have my doubts."
He probably wouldn’t start anyway, not the way United are playing at the moment. Aware of United's repeated inability to put lesser teams down this season, Mourinho might have been more comfortable heading into the game knowing he could summon an influential captain when needed.
He has turned to Rooney before in such situations, but his absence wasn't felt this time. Instead when it came time to make adjustments Mourinho went for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial. He wasn't sorry.
“In the second half we had good dynamic good creativity,” Mourinho said. “To have on the bench players like Martial and Mkhitaryan helps."
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