Louis van Gaal Says Wayne Rooney Was 'Angry' to Be Substituted vs. Aston Villa

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney was left "angry" with manager Louis van Gaal after being withdrawn during Saturday's 1-0 win over Aston Villa, his first start for the club in more than two months.

Rooney managed 67 minutes before Van Gaal substituted the England skipper, and the Red Devils chief confirmed his veteran was less than happy, per the Daily Mail's Joe Bernstein:

"

He was angry on me because he wanted to play 90 minutes. But you could see he was losing balls – he hadn't played for a long time and three days training is not enough.

He was very good in the first half but not so much in the second. It is not surprising because the rhythm in the Premier Leaugue is very high and he has not built up his capacity. But I am not upset with him, it shows good spirit when you want to play 90 minutes.

It was also Rooney's goal I think. It was his switch of play.

"

The United forward impressed on his return to the Manchester United first team, having turned out for the under-21s last week in a win over Middlesbrough prior to playing in his first Premier League match since February.

It's for that reason one might sympathise with Rooney, attempting to once again establish himself as a force ahead of England's UEFA Euro 2016 campaign, and team-mate Juan Mata was full of praise for his captain, per Sky Sports:

Rooney started off Saturday's clash supplementing striker Marcus Rashford up front before withdrawing into a more central role alongside Marouane Fellaini as the game wore on, eventually making way for Jesse Lingard.

However, Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News held a different opinion to Mata, leaning toward Van Gaal's analysis that the player could have performed better on his return to first-team action:

Rooney's reaction to his early substitution is at least the kind Van Gaal would like to see of a player who has been forced to watch his side's most recent struggles from the sidelines.

The timing of the 30-year-old's injury two months ago was particularly poor, considering Rooney looked to finally find form just prior to the setback, netting five goals and bagging three assists in his previous seven league appearances.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press/Associated Press

Having said that, United have won six of their 10 Premier League games without Rooney this season—equal to 60 per cent—while they've emerged victorious in jut 10 of the 23 games in which he's featured—just 43.5 per cent.

United will undoubtedly continue to wrap their star in cotton wool until they're assured he's back to full fitness, but the fire he showed in response to seeing his comeback limited shows a desire to get back to his fighting best.