DC United’s Rooney suffers lower leg injury in win

English star striker Wayne Rooney played only 18 minutes Saturday after suffering a lower right leg injury in DC United’s 1-0 pre-season victory over Bethlehem Steel at Clearwater, Florida.

Rooney, whose mid-season arrival last year helped lift United from the Major League Soccer basement into a playoff spot, was removed as a precaution and is listed as day-to-day, according to the club in a league website posting.

Rooney said the knock he received on his lower right shin similar to a few injuries he had suffered before, the Washington Post reported.

Rooney is expected to be fit in time for Thursday’s pre-season matchup against new MLS expansion club FC Cincinnati, according to DC United, which dubbed the setback a minor knock and said the former England star was removed as a precaution.

Shinya Kadono, an unsigned prospect, scored the lone goal in the second half for United against the second-level US club.