Wayne Rooney has tricky decision to make over Rami Al Hajj

Wayne Rooney has admitted he has a tough decision to make over whether to start Rami Al Hajj in the Championship clash against table-topping Sunderland at Home Park on Saturday or use him off the substitutes' bench instead.

The Swedish midfielder joined the Pilgrims on a three-year contract from Danish club Odense on transfer deadline day, August 30, for a reported fee of around £840,000. There are high hopes he can bring attacking creativity to the team which many fans feel has been lacking since Finn Azaz left the club at the start of this year.

However, Al Hajj has not played any football since late May, at the end of Odense's 2023/24 season, so there are obvious match fitness issues which have to be considered given the physical intensity of Championship matches.

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Rooney said: "He has come in and trained outstanding. He has been exactly what we thought we were getting in terms of his ability on the ball, his control of the ball, his vision to see a pass.

"What we have to weigh up is how long can he play? We have to make sure we get him to the right stage physically, but sometimes with players you throw them in and see how long they can do, so it's a real tough decision for me to make for Saturday."

Rooney added: "You push him too soon and you risk him getting injured. He's working extremely hard. I think at most he could probably play an hour - at most - but that's where I have to make a decision. Do I play him for an hour or do we wait for the game to open up a little bit and play him for the last 30 (minutes) when he might have a bit more of an impact?"

Meanwhile, Rooney is hopeful both Brendan Galloway and Darko Gyabi, the loan signing from Leeds United, will be available for Argyle's clash against Sunderland.

Galloway missed out on an international call-up from Zimbabwe for their first two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers due to a hamstring injury, while Gyabi did not join up with the England Elite League (Under-20s) squad for games against Turkey and Romania because of continuing issues following a groin operation towards the end of last season.

"I think they will both be fine and hopefully available for selection on Saturday," said Rooney. "Darko's was not as serious as we first thought."

One Argyle player who went away on international duty was defender Victor Palsson, who was an unused substitute for Iceland in their opening UEFA Nations League B4 game, a 2-0 home win against Montenegro, but then started - and scored - in a 3-1 defeat away to Turkey.

It gave the 33-year-old the chance to train and get in some game time after a start to his club career at Argyle which had been disrupted by injury. Palsson made his debut in the season-opening 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday but has not played for them since.

After returning from his international duty earlier this week, Palsson is expected to be in the Pilgrims' matchday squad against Sunderland, who have a 100 per cent record of four wins at the start of the Championship campaign.

Rooney said: "I sat down and spoke to him before the international break and I wanted him to go with Iceland. I think it was a good opportunity. Sometimes you are taking a risk because I think he only had two training sessions with us.

"We were in constant communication with their medical team. The hope was he did a few more training sessions and got some game time, and he has done that, and getting a goal helps as well. He will be available for us on Saturday."

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