Slaven Bilic is hoping Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney does not make his long-awaited comeback against West Ham on Wednesday after labelling the striker the best England player of his era. Rooney is in contention to play some part of Uniteds FA Cup quarter-final replay against the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground having played just over an hour for the clubs U21 side on Monday.The 30-year-old has been missing with a knee injury since a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on February 13 but manager Louis van Gaal hinted he could be involved in the cup tie. Rooney, like United as a whole, has struggled this season and has scored just seven Premier League goals - seeing his starting berth for England brought into question given the goalscoring form of both Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane.United sit fifth in the table - four points adrift of Manchester City in fourth spot - and were beaten 3-0 at Tottenham on Sunday. Rooney played 61 minutes for Uniteds U21s in the 1-0 win over Middlesbrough They return to London as underdogs against a West Ham side looking to win their final ever cup tie at the Boleyn Ground ahead of their summer move to the Olympic Stadium.But Bilic is a big fan of Rooney and insists he would be happy to see Englands all-time leading goalscorer sit out the contest altogether.Asked if Rooney had a point to prove given his lack of goals, Bilic replied: I dont know about that. LVG: We must contain Carroll Louis van Gaal says Man Utd will need to nullify the threat posed by Andy Carroll... To be fair I am a massive Rooney fan. Since he stepped on the pitch in an Everton shirt. He is for me - I dont know, I cant talk about Jimmy Greaves or Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore or any of them - lets say my football era, Rooney is the best English player.I would rather him not play, put it that way. 100 per cent, 70 per cent fit, I would rather him watch the game.He played last night, him and Phil Jones. I dont know. On one hand, most of the teams on a good run, they dont change the team a lot.Now because they lost 3-0 we really dont know whos going to play, is it going to be Rooney from the start, is it going to be (Marouane) Fellaini, is it going to be (Ander) Herrera? Is he going to change a lot or stick to the team? Slaven Bilic hailed Rooney ahead of the final FA Cup clash to be held at the Boleyn Ground We dont know. So it makes it harder for us. But we arent going to change the team because of them.West Ham sit just a point and a place behind United in the Premier League table and still have to face Van Gaals side in what is scheduled to be the last-ever competitive fixture at the Boleyn Ground when they meet in the league next month.Uniteds season has been a forgettable one so far - but Bilic knows they can turn on the style at the drop of a hat and that a Wembley semi-final date with Everton on April 23 is anything but a given. Charlies FA Cup prediction Charlie Nicholas tips West Ham to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals over Manchester United... When asked if United had lost their fear factor, the Croatian said: Yes, but they can get that fear factor back during the game.To get it back on paper you need a good run, you need five games, you need big wins against big clubs, to get it back before the game.But during the game, they can get it back like this. And they have done it so far. What worries me a little bit is that every time they were there, they got a result. Whether against Liverpool at the beginning of the season, or against Arsenal, every time. So make no mistake. We know that. Of course we are not going to make our players be afraid of them, no. But respect them.We know who is coming. They are capable, of course they are capable. They have played hundreds of games like we are going to face tomorrow night, those players.Follow West Ham v Man Utd on skysports.com and via the Sky Sports apps. Also See: Scans confirm Sakho injury LVG: We must contain Carroll LLDC told make details public West Ham v Man Utd preview Mike Trout Jersey .C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important goals, just not in back-to-back games. Shohei Ohtani Jersey . a€“ All signs point to the Maple Leafs having their top offseason acquisition in the lineup on opening night. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/ko...-angels-jersey/. Rockhold." Known as an aggressive striker, Belfort (23-10) instead paced himself as the engaged in the early going and showed restraint by not overcommitting against the larger Rockhold (10-2). But when the opportunity presented itself, Belfort delivered an incredible spinning heel kick that landed flush on Rockholds chin and sent him toppling to the floor. Rod Carew Jersey . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. Jonathan Lucroy Jersey . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Orlando Franklin ambled into the locker room Thursday and loudly announced, Im available to talk about the situation.It was the start of an extraordinary half hour in the Denver Broncos locker room where the offensive linemen cling to vestiges of the old code of silence that former offensive line coach Alex Gibbs introduced in the 1980s.One by one, each member of the Broncos usually quiet O-line chimed in on the criticism thats being piled upon them for failing to protect Peyton Manning or get the ground game going, which threatens to derail their Super Bowl dreams.—Franklin, still getting used to playing left guard after three years at right tackle, said he doesnt care about the scathing critique from Mark Schlereth. The ESPN analyst and ex-Broncos Pro Bowl O-lineman said this week that Denvers front five was so horrendous that if I was grading, giving an F would be kind.—Will Montgomery, who slid in at centre two weeks ago as the centerpiece of Denvers wholesale changes up front, said he doesnt pay any attention to whats being said outside the building but was confident the front five can get the team back on track starting Sunday.—Ryan Clady, whos dealing with a strained groin, said his surgically repaired left foot that sidelined him almost all of last season feels great. He stressed the O-line realizes righting the ship starts up front because if we go, the team goes.—Louis Vasquez, the All-Pro right guard whos been moved to right tackle, said while changes are tough especially in the middle of the season, Ill take it as a complement that the coaches believe and trust in me to get out on the edge and get the job done.—Manny Ramirez, whos moved from centre to right guard, said the reconfigured O-line was a work in progress but he appreciated Mannings vote of confidence a day earlier.Manning defended his O-line, pointing out the difficulty in switching the group midstream.Certainly, Manning replied when asked if this front five was good enough to win. Its not easy forming chemistry in just two weeks in the middle of the season, right? What is that, just a handful of ppractices theyve had together? Youd like for an offensive line to have a minicamp and a training camp to go through together, but .dddddddddddd... were having to form that chemistry on the run.Franklin said: You dont just create chemistry in two weeks as an offensive line. Its not going to be like that.The Broncos have seen 38 runs go for zero gain or negative yards, their O-line has been penalized 31 times and although Mannings been sacked a league-low 11 times, three have come on three-man rushes.The heat was turned up high after the Broncos 22-7 loss at St. Louis on Sunday in which Manning threw 54 passes and handed off just nine times.Offensive co-ordinator Adam Gase, who one week earlier criticized into his offensive linemen for their poor play, took a more contrite tone Thursday, saying he could help them with better play-calling.The first thing I can do is run the ball more, Gase said, giving them more of a chance and allowing those guys to tee off a little bit instead of being on their heels so much.Another thing that could help is the return of Virgil Green, whose three-game absence with a strained calf has coincided with the offensive lines dive.Franklin said no matter whats called or whos in there or whos saying what, the O-line has to get it done.At the end of the day, this is the NFL. Youre at the top of your game. You do what youre told in this league, he said. They pay us a lot of money. They compensate us very well in order for us to go out there whether youre going to throw the ball 100 per cent of the time or run the ball every time. Thats our job to get it done.The Broncos knew there would be growing pains when they chose to make wholesale changes up front rather than try to help the O-linemen out schematically by inserting another tight end or running back into the formations.Gase said it was a matter of getting his best five linemen on the field.Right now, I feel good about it, he said. I know were getting better. ... I think we are going to start moving forward here in these last six games.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '