WAYNE ROONEY has been left out of Manchester United’s squad to face Everton in this lunchtime’s Premier League fixture, amid further rumours about his personal life.

Rooney last night issued a statement with his wife Coleen – their first public comment since a Sunday newspaper last week claimed that Rooney had been sleeping with a £1,200-a-night prostitute while she was pregnant with their child.

In the statement, the couple said the “last six days have been extremely painful for us and for our families… it is impossible for us, as it would be for any family, to attempt to resolve any issues in the current media glare and against the backdrop of so many inaccurate and intrusive stories.

“We would therefore ask that the media now respects our privacy and the right of our family to discuss these matters in private.”

Rooney (24), who had been abroad travelling with the England squad, was reunited with the couple’s son Kai (10 months) last night, but has yet to meet his wife since the story was published.

Coleen, meanwhile, has had other things on her mind too, attending to her 12-year-old sister Rosie who has been hospitalised following a stroke.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had insisted as recently as yesterday that Rooney would feature in today’s game against his former side. The club has yet to explain the striker’s absence, but is expected to argue that the player required rest before United’s opening UEFA Champions League match against Rangers on Tuesday night.

It is possible, however, that the club has chosen to spare him from the taunts that had been planned for him over his private life.