MANCHESTER, Sept 21: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Wayne Rooney is just over a week away from returning to action after making good progress in his recovery from a thigh gash.

Rooney suffered the injury in United’s 3-2 win over Fulham on Aug 25 when Hugo Rodallega’s studs punctured his skin and left the striker in agony as blood gushed from the deep wound.

The nasty nature of the injury meant United were unsure how quickly the England striker could return.

Rooney had been reportedly ready to feature ahead of schedule in United’s win over Galatasaray in midweek but in the end he didn’t play.

However, the former Everton star has been keeping fit while out of action and will be back in training this week as he prepares for a possible return in United’s clash against Tottenham next week.

“There were reports in the paper about Rooney being possible for that [Galatasaray] but that was not the case. He is not far away though, possibly the following week he will be fine,” Ferguson said on Friday.—AFP