Everton boss Ronald Koeman insists he is 'very disappointed' by Wayne Rooney drink driving arrest but adds he 'will play' against Tottenham
- Everton face Tottenham at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday
- Wayne Rooney will play for the first time since his arrest for drink driving
- Ronald Koeman says he spoke with Rooney last Tuesday about the situation
Ronald Koeman has expressed his disappointment in Wayne Rooney but will not punish his off-field transgression by dropping him from Everton's team.
Everton's manager spoke publicly about Rooney for the first time on Thursday following his arrest last Friday morning and subsequent charge for drink-driving; Koeman would not accept specific questions about the incident and read out a prepared statement at his weekly media conference.
Rooney will appear before magistrates on September 18 and until the judicial process has run its course, Everton will not take any disciplinary action against the 31-year-old, who drove himself out of Finch Farm in his black Range Rover at 1.40pm on Thursday afternoon after training had finished.
Wayne Rooney pictured training with his Everton team-mates on Thursday afternoon
Rooney and his team-mates are currently gearing up for their match with Tottenham
Everton are looking to bounce back following their 2-0 defeat against Chelsea last time out
Everton currently have four points from their opening three Premier League fixtures
Ronald Koeman confirms Rooney 'will play' on Saturday following his drink driving arrest
The Everton manager insists he is 'very disappointed' by Rooney's arrest for drink driving
He has been involved in every training session since returning from four days off over last weekend and will lead the line against Tottenham on Saturday; a contrite Rooney and Koeman have spoken about the episode and it is clear events have surprised Everton's manager.
'Obviously I am very disappointed by this situation regarding Wayne Rooney,' said Koeman, reading from a sheet of paper. 'We have spoken on Tuesday and the chairman, Bill Kenwright, spoke also to Wayne about this situation.
'In line with any disciplinary matter this will be dealt with internally at an appropriate time and that is all I have to say about the case of Wayne Rooney.'
Pressed on whether he was in the right frame of mind to be considered to play against Tottenham, Koeman was firm and replied: 'He will play this Saturday. If I see that Wayne is not in a physical or mental condition to play, then he won't play.'
Rooney was pictured driving into Everton's training base on Thursday morning
Rooney was back behind the wheel on Thursday despite facing a drink-driving charge
The Everton player will be hoping to put his troubles behind him with victory on Saturday
Koeman was busy when he returned to work on Tuesday as he also took the opportunity to speak to Ross Barkley, who had rejected the chance to join Chelsea on transfer deadline day even though a £35million deal had been agreed with the champions.
Barkley, who is out for another three months with a torn hamstring, would prefer to move to Tottenham, who will return for him in the January window. Chelsea's interest is also not over and they will make their intentions clear in the New Year.
It is unlikely, however, that Barkley will play for Everton before then as Koeman would be reluctant to get the player – who rejected an offer to sign a new deal to stay at Goodison Park – to give him minutes before then just to improve his match fitness.
Ross Barkley's decision not to accept an offer from Chelsea left Koeman surprised
'Ross also came to see me on Tuesday and he explained to me why he turned down to go to Chelsea,' said Koeman, who has confirmed he will consider using Oumar Niasse – whom he had previously jettisoned from his thoughts – as Everton's fourth striker now.
'That is a private talk with Ross and I am not the right man to explain to you about his decision or the reason of that decision. It will be strange. And of course it's in one side a strange situation because everybody knew that he did not sign a new contract at Everton.
'It surprised me all that stuff came in the last day of the transfer window. Because if you know a player will not sign a new contract you have the whole summer if you want the player. And that's strange in my opinion. But okay, we will wait until Ross is back fit again.'
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