Manchester United News Update

Double injury boost for Reds

The Reds will have Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves back in action for the trip to Lisbon this week.

United have been without Rooney since the opening day of the season when he suffered a metatarsal fracture in his left foot, while Hargreaves has been troubled by a knee injury.

Rooney had been expected to play a part in Saturday's 1-0 win over his former club Everton, but Reds boss Sir Alex opted to rest the 21-year-old striker, who instead trained over the weekend in preparation for Wednesday's visit to Portugal.

"They'll both be ok for Wednesday," Sir Alex told MUTV after the victory at Goodison Park.

"We took medical advice on Wayne and as he had only started training on Monday, we felt that five days' training was maybe a bit short.

"But he trained on Saturday morning, Sunday and he'll train right through until Wednesday. By that point he will definitely be available for the match against Sporting Lisbon."

Giggs: We're better equipped

Ryan Giggs feels that United are capable of bettering last season's run to the Champions League semi finals because the Reds have a stronger squad this time around.

The Reds lost out to eventual winners AC Milan at the semi-final stage of the competition, despite recording a 3-2 victory over the Italians in the first leg at Old Trafford.

Giggs says the squad learnt a valuable lesson from that experience and are determined to go one step further this time round.

"We are better equipped for Europe than we were last year," said the 33-year-old.

"We have brought in players who have experience in Europe and hopefully, the younger lads can learn from their experience in Europe last year.

"I remember when I was a young lad, I learned something new from every game I played in Europe, especially away from home.

"Each game you play you get better and have more confidence. Hopefully that will be the case for the team this year."

The Reds kick-off this season's campaign on Wednesday evening in Portugal against Sporting Lisbon.

Clashes with Dynamo Kiev and Roma will follow in due course, with Giggs insisting the Reds are more than a match for anyone providing they hit top gear.

"If we play to our best ability, we should get out of the group quite comfortably," declared the midfielder.

"It is a tough group because they are all good teams and the away games will all be particularly hard.

"Hopefully we will get off to a good start. If we do that, we will be confident about going through."

FC Seoul deny bid for starlet Korean side

FC Seoul have denied rumours that United are attempting to take their highly-rated young midfielder Ki Sung-yueng on trial at Old Trafford.

The 18-year-old, who played against United during the Reds' pre-season tour of the Far East in the summer, has earned rave reviews in the K-League this season.

His performances have led to speculation in his home country that the youngster could join fellow countryman Ji-sung Park in Manchester.

But FC Seoul say there is no truth in the story and they have had no contact with United about the Korea Under-23 starlet.

"We haven't heard from United or received any formal documents," a club official told reporters in Korea's capital.

"It is the middle of the (K-League) season now, so organising a trial would be very difficult."

Silvestre suffers cruciate blow

Mikael Silvestre is likely to miss the rest of the season after scans confirmed that he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury against Everton on Saturday.

The Reds left-back, who was playing his first match since the opening day of the season against Reading, got his studs caught in the Goodison Park turf and fell awkwardly, twisting his knee.

Silvestre is the third United player to suffer a serious knee injury this year, after similar fates befell Korean midfielder Ji-sung Park and goalkeeper Ben Foster.

The trio are joined on the Reds' injury list by Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea, who are expected to be out for a number of weeks at least.

Silvestre's enforced absence, coupled with the summer sale of Gabriel Heinze, means Patrice Evra is Sir Alex Ferguson's sole recognised left-back.

However, United's squad has been suitably reinforced over the summer by the return of burgeoning talents such as Gerard Pique, Jonny Evans, Danny Simpson and Phil Bardsley.