Rooney shrugs off bug for FIFA 09 ad shoot

[Xavier]

With just over a week to go until the new Premiership season kicks off in England, thoughts are starting to turn toward the next iteration of the major football franchises. The engine improvements in UEFA Euro 2008 and Konami's missteps with Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 mean that there is even more interest than ever in FIFA 09, EA Sports' next offering.










However, EA is clearly not content to just let the hype build up on its own. Wayne Rooney was shooting an advert for the upcoming game in Mancester yesterday, despite it having been widely reported that he was going to miss the first game of the Red Devils' campaign through an illness allegedly picked up during the club's preseason trip to Nigeria. The source of that illness is a matter for some debate, however, with The Sun reporting that the man responsible for organising the Nigerian tour described the suggestion that the virus had been picked up in the country as "a lie from the pit of ****."





The Daily Mail reported that fans turned out in droves for the chance to be extras in the advertisment, which was shot outside a pub in the city's Ancoats region. Photos of the event published in the Mail showed an unshaven Rooney sporting an image of his in-game persona on his T-shirt, and holding a PlayStation 3 controller.