Wayne Rooney faces a further two weeks on the sidelines for Manchester United due to a knee injury sustained in training, ruling him out of key fixtures, the Daily Mail reports.

The striker tore a ligament in the back of his knee during training on Christmas day which forced him to miss Manchester United's last 3 games over the festive period.

He is now expected to be out for two more weeks, meaning he won't be available for the weekends FA Cup clash at West Ham or the league visit of rivals Liverpool a week later.

Ferguson said at a press conference on Friday: "Wayne Rooney is still injured. It’s a bit of a surprise because it’s longer than we thought. We expected him to be back in training but he’s not."

The United chief however insisted that the injury wasn't severe and that Rooney wouldn't be out for too much longer.

"It’s nothing serious but it looks as though he’s going to be out for another two weeks or so. He won’t be set for Liverpool," he said.

"It’s nothing serious, he just got clipped behind his knee. We sent him for a scan and nothing really showed but he’s still feeling it."

The 27-year-old England international has suffered with a few injury problems so far this season but has still managed seven league goals in the 14 appearances he has made, developing a good understanding with summer arrival Robin van Persie in the process.

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