England caretaker manager Stuart Pearce's selection headache ahead of his first match in charge against the Netherlands deepened today when both Wayne Rooney and Manchester United team-mate Tom Cleverley were ruled out.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed Rooney will not be available for Wednesday's match due to a throat infection, while also ruling out young midfielder Cleverley.

"They'll be out," he told Sky Sports News after his side's last minute 2-1 win over Norwich City. "Wayne [Rooney] has still not recovered from his throat infection, so hopefully we'll get him ready for next Sunday, when we have a big game at White Hart Lane."

Pearce, standing in after Fabio Capello's dramatic resignation earlier this month, had already lost striker Darren Bent, who injured an ankle in Aston Villa's 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic yesterday.