Manchester United manager David Moyes says no chances will be taken over Wayne Rooney after striker is sent home with a hamstring injury

England striker returned to Manchester just 16 hours after arriving in Bangkok for United's pre-season tour of Asia

Wayne Rooney pictured checking in at Manchester Airport on Wednesday (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester United manager David Moyes has spoken on his decision to send Wayne Rooney home form the club’s pre-season tour to Asia, suggesting that a safety first approach had to be taken over his hamstring injury.

The England striker was sent home just 16 hours after touching down in Bangkok due to a grade one hamstring tear suffered in training, and he will receive treatment at United’s training ground at Carrington to ensure he is fit for the start of the season.

Moyes revealed that Rooney first felt a niggle in training before the squad departed to Thailand, and following tests upon their arrival, the decision was made to not take any risks with the 27-year-olds fitness.

Moyes told MUTV when asked about his chances of being ready for the Premier League opener on August 17 against Swansea: “Yeah, he'll be okay.

"We finished training and we just thought it looked as if he just tightened up a little bit.

"He was happy with it but when we came out we thought we better just take no chances and just double check it.

"He didn't train yesterday so we thought it would be worth seeing what it was and it was just a very very slight mark on his hamstring.

"We won't take any chances, there is no point in us risking him so we've sent him back and he'll get treatment."

"It's disappointing,” added Moyes.

"The day we left he just felt his hamstring tighten up right at the end of training and we felt there would be no problem.

"But after the long flight we decided we'd get him tested and scanned and there is just a small grade one injury there.

"So there is no point is us taking him another halfway round the world so we've sent him back."

Rooney took to his Facebook page to express his disappointment at having to leave the tour early.

"Gutted to have picked up a niggling injury especially as training was going so well, heading back to Manchester to have it assessed fully but early indications are nothing to worry about," he wrote.

The injury means Rooney will miss the ensuing trips to Australia, Japan and Hong Kong, in addition to United's tour opener against Singha All Stars in Bangkok this Saturday.

If Rooney is ruled out for just a month, it would mean he could feature in the Community Shield against Wigan at Wembley on August 11, though a safety first attitude could see him rested for the annual curtain raiser to fully recover from the injury.

However, given his obvious lack of match practice, it is difficult to see how he could be involved in the following week's clash between England and Scotland, and his participation in the game at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea could also be put into question.