updated 5:55 p.m. ET Dec. 12, 2006

MANCHESTER, England - Wayne Rooney nearly got injured in a different venue — while watching the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Manchester United striker and fiancée Coleen McLoughlin sat courtside Monday night when 6-foot-8 Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics lunged for a loose ball and landed on Rooney’s surgically repaired right foot.

“It was scary,” Rooney said on Man U’s Web site. “He rolled right over my foot.”

Luckily, there was no damage to the foot that kept Rooney out of England’s opening match in the World Cup last summer. The Celtics beat the Knicks 97-90.

United players were given three days off after the Manchester derby before returning Wednesday to prepare for Sunday’s trip to West Ham United.

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