Updated 11.45
WAYNE ROONEY WILL be free to play in England’s final Euro 2012 group game following a successful appeal against his three-match international ban.
The striker was hit with the suspension when he was sent off in England’s penultimate qualifier against Montenegro, but won his case to have it reduced to two games following a disciplinary hearing at UEFA headquarters in Nyon this morning.
The decision means that Rooney will now be available for England’s potentially decisive game against Ukraine in Donetsk on 19 June.
The final game of the ban has been suspended for four years. A UEFA spokesman confirmed to BBC Sport that it will only be reinstated if Rooney is sent off in a European Championship match and that it would not be affected by his disciplinary record in the remainder of this season’s Europa League.
The news comes as a welcome boost just hours after Manchester United crashed out of this year’s Champions League with a shock 2-1 defeat away to Basel.
Both Manchester clubs finished third in their respective groups, leaving them to ponder the bitter reality of Thursday night football in the Europa League knockout stages after Christmas.
