Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Wayne Rooney was a notable absentee for Manchester United's main group session during training ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
As required by Uefa, United opened the doors of their Carrington training complex for the first 15 minutes of their pre-match session and Rooney, in the spotlight following his reaction to scoring a hat-trick at West Ham on Saturday, did not appear.
There was no official word from the club as to why the 25-year-old England striker was missing, and it was still expected that he will play in tomorrow's first leg match in London.
However, beyond question is the fact that all eyes will be on Rooney when the striker does eventually appear after he was charged with using abusive language at Upton Park, which brings the potential for a two-match ban.
United must decide by this evening whether to contest the charge which, as it presently stands, would rule Rooney out of Saturday's Premier League game with Fulham and the following weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley.
Darren Fletcher also missed the session, though there was also good news for United as long-term absentees Rio Ferdinand and Anderson both trained, raising the likelihood that they will be involved at Chelsea.