Wayne Rooney Dropped from Lineup for Manchester United vs. Leicester City

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney was left out of Jose Mourinho’s starting XI for the team’s clash with Leicester City on Saturday.

The team news was confirmed by the Red Devils Twitter account ahead of the contest, with the skipper named among the substitutes; Juan Mata replaced Rooney in the team for the fixture:

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri will be keen to see his men continue their recent good form, having beaten Burnley 3-0 in their previous Premier League outing. Here is a look at the team the champions fielded, per their Twitter account:

For a lot of United fans, the decision to take Rooney out of the starting XI is well overdue, as the England skipper has turned in a string of disappointing performances early in the 2016-17 season.

Rooney started United's EFL Cup tie against Northampton Town on Wednesday. He dismissed the heavy criticism he's received of late the following day.

"I listen to my coaches and my team-mates, the people around me, and I don’t really listen to what a lot of people out there are saying because a lot of it is rubbish," he said, per MUTV's Thursday Focus (per Adam Marshall of United's official website).

Chris Smalling took the armband from the 30-year-old for the contest, and United will be keen to show they can cope without a player who's previously been such a talismanic figure for the Red Devils. Should Mourinho’s XI perform well here, Rooney will face a big fight to win back a place in the team.