Rooney sub tactical, not injury - Koeman

Published on: 24 September 2017

Wayne Rooney's substitution in Everton's win was a tactical decision, Everton boss Ronald Koeman said, and not because of the elbow the striker took the eye that left him bloodied.

Bournemouth's Simon Francis caught Rooney with an arm in the penalty area during an aerial challenge in the first half, causing blood to drip down the former England captain face.

Rooney, who required two separate bouts of treatment -- including a change of shirt and shorts -- protested to referee Martin Atkinson, but the official did not hand out any punishment to Francis.

Koeman then took Rooney off 10 minutes after half-time, replacing him with Oumar Niasse, who scored twice to spark Everton's 2-1 comeback win.

Asked about the bloody incident, Koeman said: "It is his arm. It is not really with intention but yes it is above his eye and [the wound] is totally open.

"The doctor said to me at half-time if it happened again we would need to change him; I changed him because we needed something different."

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was adamant there was no malice in the challenge.

"I've only seen it live but Simon had his eyes on the ball and when you jump that high you need leverage and his arms are high," he said.

"He's caught Wayne but there is absolutely no intent to injure the player, I can say that for certain."

Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images

Koeman said Niasse deserved all the credit for the way he fought back from obscurity to be their match-winner.

A year ago the Senegal striker had been banished to the under-23s side having been denied a squad number after the Toffees boss decided on the basis of one 45-minute preseason performance he was not what he required.

But with no summer replacement for the departed Romelu Lukaku and a lack of pace and goals Koeman recalled Niasse, who also scored in the league cup in midweek.

"It is not surprising to me because I know him," said Koeman, who denied a story that Niasse had been refused a changing room locker last season.

"Last season was a totally different situation with Lukaku but we did not sign a striker and we have two strikers - Sandro [Ramirez] is 21, Dominic [Calvert-Lewis] is 20 -- and that gave him a chance to be more close to the first team.

"The boy has that kind of quality and with his aggression and direct play he can create a lot of problems. No-one can stop him at the moment, he did well and all the credit is to the player."

Asked whether Niasse can now be a first-team regular Koeman added: "Of course he can. It is always about opportunities for players and productivity if you speak about strikers.

"He came on last Wednesday and scored a goal and he was one of the players who turned it around to get the win."

Source: espn.co.uk

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