Manchester United expect Wayne Rooney to be out for at least a month with an ankle injury.
Local newspapers have reported that Rooney will fly back to Manchester with his team-mates this afternoon before being ferried away for a private MRI scan on the right ankle ligaments he damaged in the final seconds of United’s Champions League defeat.
Rooney will definitely miss Saturday’s crunch clash with Chelsea although the worst fears, that he might not kick another ball for United this season, endangering his World Cup hopes, appear to have been discounted.
Rooney sustained a sprained ankle which was badly swollen and encased in a protective boot when he left the Allianz Arena to head back to United’s nearby hotel.
But ligament damage is feared and while the full extent of the injury will not be clear until after this afternoon’s scan, United are gearing up to be without the 34-goal striker until the end of April.