 "In this file photo, England's Wayne Rooney reaches to head the ball during the group D World Cup soccer match between Costa Rica and England at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.")
Wayne Rooney made his long-awaited return from a knee injury on Monday as the Manchester United captain featured for the club's Under-21 team after two months on the sidelines.
Rooney played for 61 minutes against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford in his first outing since February 13 as United manager Louis van Gaal watched from the stands.
Van Gaal had declared Rooney could "maybe" feature in United's FA Cup quarter-final replay at West Ham on Wednesday, if the England forward came through the reserve fixture without any trouble.
The Dutchman now has to decide if just over an hour's work is enough for Rooney to prove his fitness.
The 30-year-old showed a willingness to get on the ball and registered three attempts on goal, firing a long-range half-volley at Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Fryer before striking his other two efforts over the crossbar.
Rooney's return for the final weeks of the season is a significant boost to van Gaal, whose side have scored just five times in their past eight fixtures, with Ashley Young playing up front in the second half of a 3-0 defeat Tottenham on Sunday.
With six games remaining, fifth placed United trail four points behind fourth placed Manchester City in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish in the Premier League.
Rooney also has the additional incentive of ensuring he is fully fit and in form as he looks ahead to Euro 2016. The England captain will want to cement his place in Roy Hodgson's starting line-up in France after watching Tottenham's Harry Kane and Leicester's Jamie Vardy continue to impress for club and country while he has been out.
