He would not have watched it, but as Wayne Rooney was being treated for another foot fracture, Sky Sports were running an advertisement for his new Nike boots, which concentrated on their ability to strike a moving target but said little about the protection they give.
It would be wrong to suggest that Nike are alone in having their boot design criticised. When a tackle from Peter Crouch ended Roy Keane's career at Manchester United, it was alleged that it was because Crouch was wearing bladed boots, which Sir Alex Ferguson bans his players from using. Factors such as harder pitches and more intensive training have also been cited for an increase in the injury as well as more lightweight footwear.
However, Nike have had little luck with their most celebrated client. When Rooney fractured his foot for the first time in the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal, his feet were clad in Nike Predators. The company remodelled the design to give greater protection to the front of the foot. Two years later, Rooney was at Old Trafford to launch the Nike Air Zoom Total Supremacy, to which the company said the England striker had given considerable input. Four days later, Rooney was carried from Stamford Bridge nursing a foot injury that undermined England's World Cup campaign. Yesterday, wearing another pair of Nike boots, he suffered again.