Manchester United's Wayne Rooney to miss Chelsea clash this weekend

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has returned to Carrington after his warm-weather training, but although now training on grass, will not be ready for Manchester United’s trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Sunday.

The England striker pulled his groin in United’s New Years Day fixture at Old Trafford against Tottenham Hotspur and has since been receiving treatment, including last week’s warm-weather training over in Egypt in an attempt accelerate his rehabilitation.

Rooney returned to Carrington during the week and David Moyes has today confirmed that he will not be ready for the weekend, speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Moyes said:“Wayne’s come back, he’s fresh but he’s not ready for Chelsea

“He’s training, he’s on the grass, doing some running and looking quite good. He’s had a break, done a lot of strengthening work around his groin and hopefully enjoyed a few days in the sunshine as well.

“Hopefully he’ll benefit from it, but not for this game.

“I don’t want to put a date on it just now as I don’t want to say he’ll be fit for whatever game and then I find he’s not, but we’ve just got to take it bit by bit. I’ve watched him running today; he looks well and is in really good condition.

“He’s kept himself right and has worked with one of our fitness coaches, who travelled with him. Overall, we’re pleased and just hope we can get him back as quickly as we can. He’s an important player.”