SIR Alex Ferguson feels Wayne Rooney asked far too much of himself by playing almost all of England’s friendly with Egypt after Sunday’s draining Carling Cup final.

Ferguson has major reservations over the Wembley pitch and cited it as one of the main reasons why he left Rooney out of his starting line-up to face Aston Villa.

In the end, Rooney played for almost an hour of the showpiece clash after Michael Owen was forced off with a hamstring injury that has ended his season.

Ferguson then released his star man for international duty, after confirming he had suffered a minor knee injury which was expected to rule him out of the midweek international.

Instead, after a scan revealed no damage, not only was Rooney part of Fabio Capello’s line-up, he remained on the pitch until he was replaced by Carlton Cole four minutes from time.

Ferguson is not believed to be upset with Capello, but the workload may cost him his most prolific striker at Wolves today.

‘‘We didn’t speak to England but there were some changes made and I thought Rooney would have been one of them, particularly as he went into the game with a small injury,’’ said Ferguson.

‘‘It is disappointing. When you are playing on that pitch for almost an hour on Sunday and then nearly a full game on Wednesday it’s far too much.”

Although Ferguson could offset the bad news with confirmation that Federico Macheda is set for a return to training after a calf injury and Owen Hargreaves could make his long-awaited reserve team comeback against Manchester City at Altrincham on Thursday, it would hardly compensate for Rooney missing out at Molineux.

Chelsea’s home defeat to City last week means that victory will take United two points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, ensuring they take maximum advantage of Carlo Ancelotti’s men being involved with FA Cup business.

Not that Ferguson is expecting an easy ride.

Although Mick McCarthy controversially made ten changes to his starting line-up for the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in December, he expects Wolves to scrap for their lives.

Rafael Benitez may have adopted a rather superior attitude to Blackburn’s tactics at Anfield on Sunday, but Ferguson realises anything goes in the bid to avoid relegation.

‘‘If you had a team down at the bottom of the league and they weren’t fighting for their lives, the fans would be the first ones to ask questions,’’ said Ferguson.

‘‘The least they expect is for their players to give 100 per cent. That is what you are going to get from now until the end of the season when you play these teams.

‘‘If I was a supporter, director, manager or coach of a team who are battling for their lives and you have one or two players who don’t understand what that means, you have a problem.”

Ferguson spoke to Sam Allardyce in midweek, when it is possible Benitez’s sarcastic claim that Champions League holders Barcelona are looking to copy Blackburn’s tactics might have been discussed.

‘‘It won’t bother Sam too much,’’ reflected Ferguson.

‘‘He actually said Liverpool played quite well.’’ Not that it matters to Ferguson as he sniffs a 12th Premier League title, a record 19th overall for United and an unprecedented fourth on the trot.

Ryan Giggs will miss out, and won’t be risked in the Champions League return against AC Milan either despite being due to have the plate removed from his broken arm early next week.

Rio Ferdinand returns after a two-match absence with a back injury.