Man Utd vs Newcastle: Fergie Waiting On Rooney

Manchester United will give Wayne Rooney every chance to prove his fitness for the Premier League visit to Old Trafford of Newcastle United on Saturday.

The England striker sustained a hip injury in the 1-0 win against top-flight newcomers Swansea in Wales last weekend and missed the 2-2 Champions League draw against Benfica at home on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old, who has scored nine goals in all competitions so far this season, now faces a race against time to get himself fit the game against Alan Pardew’s side.  Asked about his condition, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said:

“He wasn’t fit (for the Benfica game), so we need to wait to see what he is like over the next few days.”

He added: “We will give him every chance, of course – we did for this, but he wasn’t really fit, so we’ll just have to wait.”

The champions have not lost in the Premier League since the 6-1 hammering by local rivals Manchester City, winning three games without conceding, whereas Newcastle lost their unbeaten run in the top tier last Saturday when they were beaten 3-1 by Roberto Mancini’s men.

United now appear to be playing for second place to qualify from the Champions League group stages off the back of Tuesday’s draw against the Portuguese club, meaning a potentially tough draw against one of the bigger seeds if they go through.

Benfica – whose qualification is now confirmed – lead the group and face a home fixture against Romanian minnows Otelul Galati in the final round of games. Ferguson said:

“It makes it a bit harder of course, but if you look at it in a different way – maybe the bigger game will suit us anyway.”

He added: “You have to judge that in this way – if you played them in the semi-final or the final, you would be only be too delighted, knowing the possibility there is to win.”