Sir Alex Ferguson insists Wayne Rooney did not suffer any long-term damage during Manchester United's exit from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich last night.
Ferguson took a calculated gamble to risk Rooney's ankle injury against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford. He confirmed afterwards that his star striker had aggravated the problem during the 3-2 win that condemned United to an exit at the quarter-final stage.
It is a burst blood vessel below the ankle. He won't be out for too long.
Alex Ferguson on the extent of Rooney's injury.
Rooney is now likely to miss Sunday's trip to Blackburn, the start of a five-match title race in which Ferguson believes his side cannot drop a single point if they are to stand any chance of retaining their Barclays Premier League crown. However, the United boss is confident his 34-goal forward will be fit for the derby trip to Manchester City on 17 April.
"He got a knock which was similar to last week," said Ferguson, "It is a burst blood vessel below the ankle. He won't be out for too long."
After claiming on Tuesday that Rooney had "no chance" of being involved last night, Ferguson revealed that the about-turn was only confirmed on Wednesday morning, once he had spoken to medical staff about a work-out Rooney had undergone.
"He had a training session yesterday (Tuesday) and did everything we could have asked of him," said Ferguson.
"The medical people thought there was no danger, other than he might feel it in the second-half, so we felt it was worth the risk.
"Unfortunately he went over on the ankle again. There were a couple of challenges on him and I don't think he got any protection from the referee but it is not too serious.
"I don't think he will be ready for Sunday but he should be available for next week."
Ferguson must now find a way of raising his troops after they failed to overcome the 49th-minute dismissal of young defender Rafael, which he felt was pivotal. The Red Devils set off to a flying start, with Darron Gibson and Nani putting them 2-0 ahead in the tie after just seven minutes.
When the Portugal winger added a third late in the first-half, it seemed United would canter into the semi-finals. Instead, Ivica Olic netted just before the break and once Rafael departed soon after the restart, United had their backs to the wall. It took a wonder strike from Arjen Robben to eventually send Bayern through.
"It was 35 yards from goal," said Ferguson of Rafael's tug on Franck Ribery. "There was no threat and the referee wasn't going to do anything about it until they surrounded him," he added.
Ferguson's allegation was met with a swift rebuttal from Louis van Gaal. The Bayern Munich coach was unimpressed by Ferguson's assertion that the Germans would not have gone through if their hosts had retained 11 players, along with claims that the visiting team targeted Rooney's ankle.
"I thought England was noted for fairness," said van Gaal, "I have been confronted with three comments. It is not what I call fair play. I do not share Sir Alex's opinion. It is easy to say these things after a loss."
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