Alex Ferguson has move quickly to dismiss fears that Wayne Rooney may have aggravated his ankle injury after starting the striker in the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.

Rooney was a surprise inclusion on last night’s teamsheet but, after suffering a worrying first half clattering, he was later withdrawn in the second-half as a result of Rafael’s dismissal.

In truth, despite laying on the first goal for Darron Gibson, Rooney looked a shadow of himself for the majority of the game. He clearly felt restricted by the injury. His manager later acknowledged that he’d taken a risk with Rooney but was adamant that the striker had not seriously exacerbated his ankle problem…

“We’re just having a look at the situation again. I don’t think it’s serious. It’s just [a problem with] the tissue and a blood vessel that gets burst. We need to give him some more treatment but I’m sure he’ll be okay for next week.”

Thousands of Fantasy Managers had already shipped out Rooney in advance of this weekend’s fixtures with Fernando Torres the popular beneficiary of those funds. Despite his return to the side, Rooney looks a major doubt for the trip to Blackburn with Ferguson likely to keep him preserved for the trip to Man City the following weekend. That is of course if Rooney has not suffered a serious setback. We will likely no more on that in the next 24 hours.