Manchester United: Wayne Rooney's Injury Will Help Red Devils Long-Term

Wayne Rooney's hamstring injury has exposed Manchester United, which may hurt them in the long run, but will help them in the grand scheme of things this season.

It's clear that though Manchester United is stacked with talent, they have been a one-man show thus far. Rooney's ridiculous pace has allowed the Red Devils to shoot to the top of the standings and impose their will on the entire English Premier League.

While Rooney has been fantastic, there is going to be some point in the season when a healthy Rooney isn't knocking in multiple goals a game.

Manchester United needs to figure out how to function without him. The team is overloaded with strikers, yet nobody has been able to remotely fill the void. They are a completely different team without Rooney and there is really no excuse for it.

Even without him, there isn't a shortage of talent running around the pitch. Dimitar Berbatov should be able to come in and perform whenever Manchester United needs him.

The team has completely lost their swagger. Oddly enough, it wasn't their offense that went MIA vs. Basel, it was their back line. Allowing three goals to a team of that caliber is unacceptable.

They've got to stop lamenting the loss of their superstar. He tweaked his hamstring. These things happen over the course of a season. The team is too talented to rely upon one player to deliver for them, night in and night out.

Rooney is irreplaceable, but that doesn't mean Manchester United should fail to function with him out. They've built an incredible lead in the EPL and a ridiculous goal differential to boot.

Rooney's absence cripples Manchester United for the time being, but they'll be better off down the stretch when Rooney proves to be human.