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ROONEY A DOUBT FOR UNITED

Rooney - doubtful.

Wayne Rooney will be fit for England next week, even though he is still a doubt for Manchester United's Barclays Premier League clash with Blackburn at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Rooney has only just returned to ball work in training after injuring his ankle in Aalborg on Tuesday, but Sir Alex Ferguson has "no issues" with the 22-year-old joining up with Fabio Capello's squad for the World Cup double-header with Kazakhstan and Belarus next week.

Skipper Gary Neville is also a doubt with a slight thigh injury, while Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick join Paul Scholes (knee) on the sidelines.

Blackburn boss Paul Ince is close to having goalkeeper Paul Robinson and summer signing Vince Grella fit for action, but Saturday's clash could be too early for both players.

Former Gillingham keeper Jason Brown made his first Blackburn start at Newcastle last time out and looks likely to face the reigning champions at Ewood Park as Robinson struggles to shake off the calf injury he sustained against Everton in the Carling Cup.

Australia international Grella could be named among the substitutes for the match but is more likely to make his Rovers return after the international break.

Steven Reid is out with a knee problem, while Benni McCarthy is back in training but is unlikely to be sharp enough for the starting XI.

Teams:

Blackburn (from): Brown, Robinson, Bunn, Nelsen, Samba, Ooijer, Warnock, Emerton, Olsson, Tugay, Derbyshire, Santa Cruz, Villanueva, Fowler, Andrews, Fowler, Grella, Treacy, Pedersen .

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Amos, Neville, Brown, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Nani, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney, Welbeck.