Soccer:Alex Ferguson sidestepped the Wayne Rooney issue ahead of Manchester United's Premier League clash with West Brom at Old Trafford tomorrow.
Rooney appeared to challenge his boss' authority on Tuesday night when he made a point of speaking to the media after England's goalless draw with Montenegro to claim he had not been suffering from an ankle injury.
As that was the pretext under which Ferguson had left Rooney out of United's meetings with Valencia and Sunderland, it raised question marks about the pair's relationship.
However, if there is an issue to be resolved, the United manager is clearly not interested in dealing with it publicly.
"It is water off a duck's back to me," said Ferguson. "I don't know where all these things come from. The boy is always in the spotlight and being addressed by the press. It is important how you handle it in my experience.
"But it just runs off me. It doesn't mean anything."