Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the hamstring injury which
kept Wayne Rooney out of Saturday's draw at Stoke isn't serious,
but was reluctant to pencil in a return date for the
striker.
Rooney was among three players who suffered injuries in training
on Friday, while the Reds' plans were further dented when Javier
Hernandez sustained a dead leg after just three minutes at the
Britannia Stadium.
"Jonny Evans got an ankle injury in training yesterday," Sir
Alex told MUTV. "We had a nightmare of a training
session - Evans, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney all got injured.
Jonny thought he'd be okay but in the warm-up it was no use. With
Chicharito in your team he gives you that penetration and speed,
that was a loss."
"It's difficult to say [how long Rooney will be out for]. It's
not a serious hamstring injury but I don't think he'll be available
for next week. I think he'll be out for more than a week."
Rooney, Carrick, Evans and Hernandez join a lengthy injury list
which already includes Nemanja Vidic, Chris Smalling, Rafael, Tom
Cleverley and Darron Gibson, although Rio Ferdinand and Danny
Welbeck both returned to Premier League action against Stoke.
"We are Manchester United and we don’t like to make excuses but
it is difficult to come to a place like Stoke with those types of
players," admitted Patrice Evra. "We have many players who are not
here tonight."
