The striker last featured for his club in a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on 13 February but looked fit, if ring rusty, in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough’s Under-21s.
The only goal came from Paddy McNair eight minutes after the over-age Rooney's planned exit.
Manager Louis van Gaal was among a 6,000-plus crowd who turned up on a cold, wet night to see the return of England’s 51-goal record scorer as he began his comeback two months before their opening European Championship match against Russia in Marseille on 11 June.
Rooney, 30, had a speculative long-range shot early on that posed no problem to Middlesbrough keeper Joe Fryer and also sent a free kick high over the crossbar in the second half.
England manager Roy Hodgson has indicated Rooney will be in the squad for the Euros when he names it in a month’s time, as long as he is “mechanically fit”.
