Rooney: Ready for action
Manchester United have been boosted by the news that Wayne Rooney is fit for the start of the Premier League season.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has declared the striker ready for Sunday's Old Trafford curtain-raiser with Newcastle, live on Sky Sports 1.
The England international missed the last two weeks of United's pre-season preparations for the defence of their top-flight crown after picking up a virus on the club's tour of Africa.
However, Ferguson now looks set to name Rooney, who has returned to training with the Red Devils since last week's Community Shield victory over Portsmouth, in his squad for the visit of Newcastle.
"Wayne is fit to play on Sunday," said Ferguson.
"He has trained all week. We took him down to the Community Shield last Sunday and he did some work for us then.
"From then on he has been progressing really well."
However, Ferguson remains tight-lipped over reports that United are on the verge of completing a £25million move for Dimitar Berbatov.
Rumour is rife that the Tottenham star travelled to United's training ground on Friday to undergo a medical.
But, when asked about Berbatov, Ferguson has declined to comment, saying: "I have nothing to say, absolutely nothing at all."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 20th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton |
| 15:00 | Everton vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Tottenham |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Burnley |
| 17:30 | Arsenal vs West Ham |
| Sunday 21st March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Man Utd vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Man City |
| 16:00 | Blackburn vs Chelsea |
| Tuesday 23rd March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | West Ham vs Wolverhampton |
| Wednesday 24th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Sunderland |
| 19:45 | Man City vs Everton |
| 19:45 | Portsmouth vs Chelsea |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Birmingham |
| Saturday 27th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Birmingham vs Arsenal |
| 15:00 | Chelsea vs Aston Villa |
| 15:00 | Hull vs Fulham |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Portsmouth |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Stoke |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 16th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 2 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 15th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 4 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Sunday 14th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Fulham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 1 Man City | |
| Saturday 13th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 3 - 1 Blackburn | |
| Bolton 4 - 0 Wigan | |
| Birmingham 2 - 2 Everton | |
| Stoke 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Chelsea 4 - 1 West Ham | |
| Burnley 1 - 2 Wolverhampton | |
| Hull 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Wednesday 10th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Stoke | |
| Tuesday 9th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 4 - 0 Bolton | |
| Portsmouth 1 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Monday 8th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Wigan 1 - 0 Liverpool | |
| Sunday 7th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Everton 5 - 1 Hull | |
| Saturday 6th March | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Bolton | |
| Wolverhampton 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Sunday 28th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Tottenham 2 - 1 Everton | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 30 | 66 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 29 | 64 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 30 | 64 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 52 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 51 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 28 | 50 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 28 | 49 |
| 8 | Birmingham City | 29 | 44 |
| 9 | Everton | 29 | 42 |
| 10 | Fulham | 29 | 38 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 29 | 36 |
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers | 29 | 34 |
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 32 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 29 | 31 |
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 30 | 28 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 29 | 27 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 29 | 27 |
| 18 | Burnley | 30 | 24 |
| 19 | Hull City | 29 | 24 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 29 | 10 |
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