Alex Ferguson has announced that Wayne Rooney is likely to miss the season opener against Newcastle after picking up a virus whilst on United’s recent pre-season tour.
“It’s a virus that we believe he picked up in Nigeria. It’s not a nice one,” revealed Ferguson.
“The season starts in 12 days, but it’s such a bad virus that he’s not trained since we got back from Africa on 28 July. It’s a long time.”
Rooney has sat out of United’s last few friendlies against Portsmouth, Espanyol and Peterborough and his absence from the side is almost certain to see Frazier Campbell handed a start against Keegan’s side – boosting his short-term appeal for fantasy managers.
It’s bad timing for United though. Ferguson is already without Nani through suspension and Anderson due to Olympic involvement, while Ronaldo is of course sidelined.