MANCHESTER United striker Wayne Rooney says he is hurting and is "only a human being" in his first comments since being accused of cheating on his then-pregnant wife with a prostitute.

Rooney has struggled to make an impact for United since the alleged infidelities emerged in newspapers last month. He has failed to score for the English Premier League club from open play all season.

Asked by Sky Sports if the sex scandal has affected his form, Rooney said that "obviously it has been a hard time but I just need to try to get back to doing what I do best and playing football the way I can do. I'm only a human being. I hurt as well."

Rooney said he is "sure everything else will settle down."

On the pitch, meanwhile, Jordi Gomez and Hugo Rodallega scored in the second half to lift Wigan Athletic out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League yesterday.

A fourth straight league loss for Wolves came after having captain Karl Henry sent off after 11 minutes for a recklesschallenge on Gomez.

Gomez put the hosts ahead with a 65th-minute free kick that went in off the underside of the crossbar and Rodallega deflected in the second in the 85th.

• premier [´premiə] n.总理 a.首要的 (初中英语单词)
• league [li:g] n.同盟；社团 (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
• scandal [´skændl] n.丑闻；耻辱；流言蜚语 (高中英语单词)
• athletic [æθ´letik] a.运动的；强壮的 (高中英语单词)
• reckless [´rekləs] a.不注意的；鲁莽的 (高中英语单词)
• impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)
• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)