Gash rules Rooney out

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is expected to be sidelined for four weeks after sustaining a cut to his thigh.

Rooney, 26, suffered the injury in the second half of United's 3-2 victory over Fulham in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The striker, who had come on as a second-half substitute, was caught by the studs of Hugo Rodallega, which opened up a deep wound on his right leg.

Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed in his press conference after the game that the England international has been taken to hospital for treatment and is set to be out for around a month.

Ferguson said: "It was a very bad one. He has gone to hospital. It looks like he will be out for four weeks.

"You have to be wary of infection and that kind of thing so he has gone to the best place and hopefully he will be okay. Rodallega followed through and caught him - but it was an accident of course.''

If the early prognosis of four weeks out is correct, Rooney could be back for United's trip to Liverpool on September 23. He will be absent for the matches versus Southampton and Wigan.

Rooney is also to miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine and the start of United's Champions League campaign.

Ferguson: No more signings for United

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Alexander Buttner and Angelo Henriquez will be the last of the club's summer signings.

Henriquez, the 18-year-old Chilean striker, will finalise his move to Old Trafford over the next couple of days. He will link up with Shinji Kagawa, Nick Powell, Robin van Persie and Buttner, the Red Devils' other recruits this summer.

"We definitely won't be buying anyone else," Ferguson said. "There is no movement about anyone going the other way."

Meanwhile, Ferguson has lifted the lid on the details of, and history to, Henriquez's switch from Universidad de Chile.

"Henriquez is on his way back to Manchester," Ferguson said. "He had to go back to Chile after he got the work permit on Tuesday. We've had an option [on him] since he was 14 when he played against our youth team.

"He came over when he was 15 and then 16. We kept in close contact with him in that respect and, when he got to 18, it was a matter of whether or not we left him for another year or brought him in. But he had such a good summer with Chile's Under-20s, we thought it wasn't worth waiting, we may as well do it now.

"That took away a lot of interest from other clubs. We had the option on him, but options only last so long and we decided to take him in. He's quick and a good finisher and he has a terrific physique for a boy of 18. He should be here on Sunday."

United and Liverpool target Herrera

Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in signing Mexico's Olympic gold medal winner Hector Herrera, according to his club.

The 22-year-old Pachuca midfielder is rated at £10 million after helping Mexico defeat Brazil to win the Olympic football tournament.

Pachuca sporting director Andres Fassi said United had approached him about Herrera, who is not yet a full international, but added that he hoped to keep the playmaker.

"There is an official interest," he explained. "We have the document, but there's nothing else to add at this time. We want him to continue in Pachuca. We know he's going to emigrate to England, though. Manchester United and Liverpool have talked to us.

"At whatever moment he wants, he can leave Pachuca and the club will give him the opportunity to do so."

Herrera told Raza Deportiva: "The truth is that so far I know nothing about what is happening, I am not aware. From what I've heard there has been some news, but I have had no approach from the Pachuca club president or the people from Manchester.

"If given the opportunity to emigrate to European football, of course I'd go but I have wait to see what the club officials say. I did not expect it so soon, I did not expect these big clubs to be tracking me after such a short time, but this is the result of the sacrifices I have made.

"There wasn't any approach or any talks and I haven't had the pleasure of getting to know Chicharito [Javier Hernandez, the United forward]."

Henriquez Gets Work Permit, Set for United

Angelo Henriquez is set to complete his transfer to Manchester United after receiving a work permit to play in the UK.

The Chilean striker had already agreed a £3.5 million move to Old Trafford and passed a medical but the deal was held up as United waited to discover if he would be able to move to Manchester straight away or if they would have to loan him to a foreign club until he was allowed to ply his trade in England.

Henriquez will play his final game for Universidad de Chile against Santos on Wednesday and is then set to link up with his new team-mates.

The 18-year-old striker has scored 11 goals in 17 games for Universidad and has 14 goals in nine games for Chile's Under-20 side.

Last week Henriquez's brother Cesar said United had been watching him for two years since he played in the Nike Manchester Cup for Universidad's youth team.

He will become Sir Alex Ferguson's fifth summer signing after Nick Powell, Shinji Kagawa, Robin van Persie and Alexander Buttner.

Man Utd agree Van Persie deal

Manchester United have agreed a deal for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, subject to a medical and personal terms.

Sir Alex Ferguson has made the capture of the striker his main priority this season and agreed terms on a deal that will reportedly be worth over £20 million.

A statement on the Man Utd website read: "Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal Football Club for the transfer of Robin Van Persie. The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course."

Van Persie, 29, revealed earlier this summer that he would not be signing a new deal at the Emirates - with his current contract ending in the summer of 2013 - and cited a lack of ambition from the club's owners in the transfer window.

A statement on Arsenal's website read: "Van Persie will travel to Manchester on Thursday in order to agree personal terms and complete a medical ahead of the proposed move."

When asked by TF1 if he would replace Van Persie, Arsene Wenger replied: "We already recruited to replace him. It's sad to lose a player of his quality. He had a year left on his contract so we didn't have the choice."

Despite the presence of Wayne Rooney, Federico Macheda, Bebe, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez in his squad, in addition to Berbatov, who has been widely tipped to leave Old Trafford, United have sought out a new striker.

The Red Devils initially lodged a bid for Van Persie last month, but this was turned down by the Gunners amid further interest from Manchester City and Juventus.

However, City never followed up an initial inquiry, while Van Persie made it clear he was not interested in a move to Serie A.

Having taken the unusual step of confirming a bid for Van Persie on United's pre-season tour of South Africa, Ferguson is then said to have intervened in a deal that was in danger of stalling by speaking directly with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Although Wenger did not want to sell his star man to a rival club, he realised the Gunners were in a tricky situation, with supporters turning against their former favourite during a pre-season encounter with Cologne on Sunday.

Henriquez at United 'to stay'

With a deal to join Manchester United close to completion, Chilean youngster Angelo Henriquez has spoken of his excitement at arriving at Old Trafford.

Henriquez, 18, is on the verge of completing a move that has been in the pipeline for some time, with Manchester United having held a first-option agreement with Universidad de Chile since 2009.

However, the striker, who marked his first senior league campaign with 11 goals in 17 games earlier this year, is still unsure as to whether he will remain with the Red Devils, or depart on loan.

"I'm super happy to arrive at Manchester United and it's a spectacular time for me. I'm fulfilling a dream that I have had for a long time and that I can soon make real. I'm arriving where I want to be," Henriquez told Chilean newspaper La Tercera.

"My suggestion was to arrive at Manchester United in August next year, but it was complicated. You look on television and see the outstanding players, scoring spectacular goals. I cannot waste this opportunity."

Henriquez confirmed that he will meet with Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson on Wednesday to discuss arrangements for the coming months, having undertaken a medical with the club on Tuesday afternoon.

"I haven't had contact with the coach [Ferguson]. I will meet with him tomorrow [Wednesday] and we will talk about what he wants from me," he added. "I haven't spoken with any of the squad. I am with the team's South American scouts who have helped me all this time and they follow me everywhere.

"I am coming to Manchester United to stay and I a going to play to achieve that goal. I don't know what will happen with my future. I didn't see this situation coming myself, but my agent [Fernando Felicevich] will meet with the chief executive of the club and they will decide what will happen with me.

"I want to play with the Manchester United first-team, this is my principal objective. If they decide to loan me, I prefer to remain at Universidad de Chile until Manchester decide it's convenient."

Vidic Vows to return to Top Form

Nemanja Vidic insists his knee is in "perfect condition" and that his partnership with Rio Ferdinand at the centre of the Manchester United defence will be as good as ever this season.

Vidic missed most of the last campaign as United lost their Premier League crown to their city rivals. And after returning to first team action in pre-season, Vidic hopes his injury problems are a thing of the past.

"I have no doubt Rio and me can again be the best couple of central defenders in the Premier League," he said. "That's the way it has been for a few years and now my dream is for us to return to the same level. People can think anything they like. But, all things being equal, it is very difficult for anybody to get the better of us.

"My knee is in perfect condition. My only challenge this season is to avoid more injury. I'm still not 100% but this will come with minutes on the field and more hard work. I've received a lot of confidence from the manager and this is the main thing for me.

"We had some young players play a lot of games last season. They'll have learned a lot. We all learned. In Europe we've had so much success in recent years and maybe relaxed a bit. We were punished and can't allow that to happen again.

"We had a few injuries last season too. I hope everyone can stay fit this time. To lose the league title was hard for us but is forgotten now and we are only thinking of becoming the owners of the English championship again."

Fletcher Returns in Aberdeen Friendly

Darren Fletcher made his first Manchester United appearance in nine months after coming on as a substitute during a testimonial match at Aberdeen.

Fletcher, who has not played since November after being diagnosed with a chronic bowel condition, came off the bench in the second half as United were beaten 2-1 in Neil Simpson's testimonial.

Former Dons manager Sir Alex Ferguson included the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand in his side, while Dwight Yorke also made a cameo appearance for United.

Fletcher, who has been training with Scotland, took a big step towards a first-team return as he replaced Giggs as captain, completing the final half-an-hour at Pittodrie.

"It's been quiet progress for the boy," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV before the match. "He joined in training a couple of weeks ago and it's one of those situations where you say: 'Let's see how he does' because he has had a really difficult time in the last year."

Ferdinand tweeted after the match: "Welcome back Darren Fletcher, great to see my man ratting round the pitch!! Deserves some luck now."

Aberdeen took an unexpected lead in the game after 38 minutes when Jonny Hayes pounced on a rare lapse by Scholes when he dispossessed the midfielder and coolly slotted the ball past David De Gea.

The Dons doubled their lead when Joe Shaughnessy turned the ball home from an Andrew Considine pass after United failed to deal with a Rob Milsom corner. Yorke had a strike ruled out for offside before Anderson pulled a goal back for United after 81 minutes with a neat finish, but Aberdeen held on for a surprise victory.

Man Utd share value 'could plunge'

Manchester United shares are worth less than a quarter of the amount the Glazers had hoped to raise, according a leading business company.

PrivCo, an independent financial analyst, said United's stock price could plummet further - and gave the shares a value that would mean the club is worth less now than when the Glazers bought it in 2005.

The Glazers floated 10% of shares in the club on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, looking for a maximum price of $20 a share.

United's current share price is $14, but millions of shares have been bought by the seven banks underwriting the IPO, and PrivCo calculated their true value is just $4.97 each - giving United a value of around $800 million rather than the $3.3 billion the American family had wanted.

The Glazers paid just under £800 million to complete their takeover in 2005.

"Manchester United's valuation using several accurate valuation methodologies is a mere $4.97 a share, only about one-third of its $14 a share offering price (which is also the price at which it closed its first trading day, but only because IPO underwriters placed large open-market bids at $14 a share to prevent the stock from closing below the IPO price)," PrivCo said.

The company compared United with other publicly-listed football clubs including Juventus, Roma and Borussia Dortmund, and recent takeovers of other sports clubs or franchises, including Liverpool, LA Dodgers and Boston Celtics, and predicted that the club will emulate Facebook, whose share price also plunged quickly.

"The objective, independent valuation indicates that MANU stock could plunge by nearly two-thirds of its IPO price before it reaches fair value," PrivCo explained.

"Furthermore, PrivCo data shows the implications of other recent IPOs where IPO underwriters were forced to make 'stabilising bids' on the first day's trading correlated with rapid plunge in stock prices as soon as the ephemeral artificial floor propping up price in initial days is removed, and how this augurs poorly for Manchester United's public shareholders."

Usain Bolt: Ronaldo is better than Messi

The world's greatest ever sprinter, Usain Bolt, has thrown his weight into the debate over who is the best football player on the planet and claimed that it is Cristiano Ronaldo, not Lionel Messi.

Bolt, who has made it clear he would love a chance to prove his football skills in a trial with Manchester United, has shown his dominance on the athletic stage at the London 2012 Olympics by successfully winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay for a second successive Games.

Now he insists that Barcelona star Messi, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2009, 2010 and 2011 is not quite as good as Real Madrid winger and most the world's most expensive player Ronaldo.

"No doubt Cristiano is better than Messi. He is a more complete player," Bolt told Portuguese channel RTP. "I would give [the Ballon d'Or] to Cristiano. He has managed to stay on top and that's the most difficult thing."

The Jamaican's words can be taken with a pinch of salt as he is a confirmed United fan who recently claimed he would help the club in any way to "make sure the title does not end up with Manchester City again".

One thing he has noticed in the United line-up is a weakness in the sprinting department: "You see guys like Nani and Ashley Young who are so fast and skilful, but they get pushed off the ball like Ronaldo used to," he explained.

"Since I taught Ronaldo in 2009 he has gone on to score 40 goals a season, I don't think he would have scored them all without my training.

"United have so many players with pace that if they all perfect their sprinting technique it will be impossible to play against them."

Gill: United Have Money to Spend

Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists the club's IPO will not affect their ability to spend in the transfer market and again denied that the Glazers' ownership has damaged the Red Devils prospects on the pitch

United floated on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, when 10% of the club's shares were sold, giving them a market value of $2.3 billion - $1 billion below the figure the Glazers hoped to achieve.

But Gill said: "We fully understand and the owners fully understand that what happens on the pitch is crucial to us and we will make sure there are sufficient funds to invest in the team going forward."

Sir Alex Ferguson is trying to buy Arsenal captain Robin van Persie to join his other summer signings Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell at Old Trafford, with chief operating officer Michael Bolingbroke revealing last week that the club had budgeted for a net spend of £40 million in this transfer window.

And Gill pointed to United's record in the Glazers' seven-year reign as he defended the owners and said revenue will increase in the future.

"We've won four Premier Leagues, we've been to the Champions League final three times, we've had ongoing success on the pitch," he said.

"We're comfortable with the leverage we've had and we believe that given the growth opportunity we've got ahead of us - for example we've signed Chevrolet to a seven-year shirt sponsorship commencing in 2014, which is over twice what our current shirt sponsors make - we've got a lot of interesting and good opportunities to improve our cash flow going forward."

Carrick may Start Season in Defence

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick could be used as an emergency central defender at the start of the Premier League season, Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested.

United are down to their last two specialist centre-backs - the injury-prone Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who has not played a competitive game for eight months.

And midfielder Carrick may have to drop into the back four for the trip to Everton on August 20.

The England international has previously played there, notably during an injury crisis in December 2010, and has been used as an auxiliary defender again during the club's pre-season fixtures because of the absences of Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

"Evans is recovering from an operation," Ferguson told the club's official website. "Smalling is out for three months. Jones got a muscle injury in his back and was sent home from Norway.

"So the area we're concerned about is centre-back. Evans won't be ready for the start of the season. He won't be far away but he won't be ready.

"Smalling is out and I can't give you an update with Jones because we've not fully diagnosed that. But Michael Carrick was absolutely brilliant [in Sweden] with his passing the ball and his interceptions. He was fantastic."

United fans up in arms over IPO

More than one million messages from Manchester United supporters have been sent to the club's sponsors and the banks underwriting this week's IPO to complain about the ownership of the Glazers.

The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) have called for a boycott of the sponsors because half of the proceeds of the IPO, in which 10% of the shares in the club will be sold, could go to the Glazer family.

United fans are also targeting the banks supporting the flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, claiming it is bad for investors as well as supporters.

Sponsors have received over 758,000 messages and bankers a further 608,000 and Duncan Drasdo, chief executive of MUST, said: "The response has been incredible and the rate of increase shows no sign of slowing down as the campaign takes off around the world spreading like wildfire through the Manchester United global fan base.

"Manchester United fans were already angry about the £550 million the Glazers have already taken out of our club. The hundreds of millions more they plan to take in future with the proposed IPO in New York has now pushed many beyond breaking point."

An MUST spokesman added: "Essentially the IPO is bad for investors, the club and the fans. The Glazer family sell the rights to our loyalty and devotion for the club to sponsors for many millions but then use that money to pay off their self-imposed debt.

"It has to stop and we want the IPO shelved and a proper fan ownership model put in place - one share, one vote. Our actions are no different to the marketing tactics used by all the club's sponsors anyway."

The clubs' sponsors and the banks are yet to comment.

Sprint star Bolt wants United Trial

It may or may not have been said with his tongue firmly in his cheek but Olympic sprint superstar Usain Bolt has called on Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to hand him a trial.

Bolt cemented his position as the fastest man on the planet when defending his Olympic 100m title on Sunday. The Jamaican has been musing about his next move, with a step up to 400m a possibility.

But he is not short of confidence and has often claimed he has the skill to make it as a footballer.

He is a huge United fan, has met Ferguson and the players in the past, and has put out a call for a trial.

"People think I am joking, but if Alex Ferguson called me up and said, 'OK let's do this, come and have a trial', it would be impossible for me to say no," Bolt is quoted as saying in the Sun.

"I would not take up the challenge if I didn't think I was good enough. I am a very accomplished player and know I could make a difference.

"I would be the fastest player in the team - but I can play as well."

He added: "I am in Britain for a few more days. If Alex Ferguson wants to give me a call he knows where I am."