What Wayne Rooney tells son Kai as Man Utd star shares heartbreaking four-word statement

Wayne Rooney opened up on the footballing advice he's handed his children as his eldest son, Kai, deals with injury. The 15-year-old, who is a Manchester United youth player, has followed in his father's footsteps by turning out for the Red Devils and recently earned promotion to the club's Under-19s squad, demonstrating the potential he possesses.

However, the teenager's momentum - which saw him score a left-foot volley for the Under-18s - has been halted in cruel fashion after he took to Instagram to upload a mirror selfie that showed him on crutches whilst wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

Kai, 15, captioned the photo writing: "Life can't get worse," adding a crying emoji alongside the brief message, suggesting he's suffered an injury while playing for United's academy. While the nature of the injury or the length of his absence has yet to confirmed, it remains to be seen when the youngster can expect to return to action.

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It was in 2020 when he first joined the United youth set-up at 11 years old, and while he usually plays centrally, similar toRooney Sr, he's shown versatility in his performances on the flanks.

On top of the coaching he's received at United, he does possess a person at home with a wealth of knowledge of the game – his father. It was during Friday's edition of that the 39-year-old delved into the guidance he'd give his sons when it comes to improving their footballing skills.

"I'm quite lucky where I live as I've got a little pitch there and when the kids say, 'we're coming on the pitch', all they're gonna do is tie the balls on the top corner," he said to Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kelly Somers and Kae Kurd.

"So when I say to them when I was younger, I remember setting a little square to practice passing into it and just playing off the wall. So I'm very similar, [I tell them] 'you need to work on your speed, you need to work on your technique and control.' Otherwise, you go out and you're just like, 'watch me hit the ball in the top corner'."

Despite having handed words of wisdom to his children over the years when it comes to football matters, the former England captain admitted he's a proponent of allowing Kai to find his feet in the sport without constant advice from himself.

Speaking with BBC Sport during the Super Cup NI tournament in Northern Ireland, Rooney said: "I just let him play. I think they started the competition well, they won 3-0, he scored the penalty and got an assist.

"So I think he started OK. He just plays and that's all he's done during his time playing. I think it's very unfair for anyone to expect him to go and do all kinds. He's just playing, he's a 15-year-old boy playing his football, enjoying it.

"Of course he gets different attention to a lot of his team-mates but I think he handles that really well." After leaving Plymouth Argyle last year following just 25 games in charge, Rooney has yet to return to management.

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