Rooney to Learn Fate on Thursday

Wayne Rooney will discover whether the challenge to his two-match ban for offensive, insulting and/or abusive language has been successful on Thursday morning. Rooney was handed the suspension by the Football Association after swearing into a television camera following his hat-trick goal against West Ham at the weekend. At present, the striker will miss Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley next weekend.

However, while Manchester United decided against contesting the charge itself, with Rooney having already publicly apologised for his behaviour, they are challenging the severity of the suspension. United believe that a two-game ban is excessive punishment for Rooney's conduct and expected to hear the result of their challenge on Wednesday afternoon. Following consultation between the club and the FA, though, the decision has been put back until Thursday morning to avoid disrupting United's preparations for their Champions League quarter-final fixture against Chelsea. Rooney has the support of the Professional Footballers Association and chairman Gordon Taylor, who said: "Whilst the use of foul and abusive language is not condoned, there is an acceptance by all parties within the game that 'industrial language' is commonly used.

"It becomes an issue when directed towards match officials. However, when used in a spontaneous way in celebration or frustration then it is not normally expected to merit a sanction.If sanctions are to be imposed in such circumstances then this has to be done in a balanced and consistent manner, and participants made aware of this fundamental change in approach."

Cech Rues United 'luck'

Petr Cech claims Manchester United 'didn't really win' against Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final.United head to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday for the first leg of the teams' quarter-final meeting, and Sir Alex Ferguson's men may feel they have the mental advantage after defeating Chelsea on penalties to become champions of Europe for the third time.However, Cech believes that luck was the defining factor in United's success, which came at the end of a 1-1 draw after John Terry and Nicolas Anelka missed their penalties in the shootout."The records will say that they won the game, but they didn't really win it," he said. "They just had more luck in the shootout than we had."Cech is keen to highlight Chelsea's recent victories over United, with the Blues coming out on top in their last three Premier League meetings and not having lost a home match to the Red Devils since 2002."What's in the past is in the past," he said. "We are looking forward to the future and we hope this time it will be us who go through."We still go into that game with confidence because our record against Manchester United in recent years is very good, especially at home."We know their players and their team, and going to Old Trafford we will not discover anything new.

We've played there many times and won there last season, so we can be positive."Terry, meanwhile, says he is determined to end the talk of Chelsea's Champions League 'jinx'."I am fed up talking about it being just one of those things," Terry said in the London Evening Standard. "I am so desperate to win it but we need that bit of luck. Time is on our side but, hopefully, we will get that this year."There have been many years where we have played well and got knocked out and others played badly and got through. It is a strange game, especially in this competition."It's about being solid throughout and at times getting a bit of luck because we have certainly been the better team at home to Barcelona and not got the luck we deserved. It happened in previous years against Liverpool as well and obviously with the final against Manchester United. I just aim to go one step further."The club's failure in Europe has, perhaps, hit Terry hardest given that his penalty miss in Moscow cost them their greatest chance of glory in the competition to date, but Ricardo Carvalho, now of Real Madrid, has praised the way he handled the situation."I was so impressed with John," he told The Guardian. "He is a classic English centre-back - so strong, such character. He was angry and crying like all of us, but he didn't hide away in his room. He looked dead but he was there for us. If that had happened to me, I'm not sure I could have done the same. That was incredible."

Bruce Keen to Hold of Welbeck

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce would love to make Danny Welbeck a permanent signing from Manchester United - but has grave doubts whether Sir Alex Ferguson will ever allow that to happen. The 20-year-old striker has had an outstanding first season on loan at Sunderland, and was rewarded last Tuesday with an England debut against Ghana. Bruce sees him as a likely international star of the future, and told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme: "I would love to buy him, but I don't think that might be possible with the talent the kid's got. It isn't often Manchester United let one of their bright young players go.''That will not stop Bruce trying, but he is realistic about his prospects of success.

"We'll have a conversation in the summer,'' he said. "But if I was a betting man, I think Sir Alex would be holding on to him - and maybe we could have him for another season if possible.'' Either way, Bruce has no doubt Welbeck will come of age for his country. "He has flourished since he has been with us because of one thing - he has played,'' the Black Cats boss added. "I don't think in two or three years (at United) he has played more than six games on the spin. "Danny Welbeck is a fantastic young talent. He's had a fantastic season with us, for such a young boy. So why not (play him for England)? If they've got the talent, like (Jack) Wilshere, it bodes well.''

FA to Decide on Rooney Swear Charge

Wayne Rooney will discover on Monday whether he will be charged by the Football Association for swearing as he celebrated his hat-trick against West Ham. Having inspired Manchester United's comeback from being 2-0 down at half-time against West Ham to win 4-2, it is no surprise to see Rooney plastered across the back pages of the morning's newspapers.

But it is the striker's conduct that is under scrutiny, not his attacking prowess, after he said an expletive into a television camera when celebrating his third goal, leading Sky Sports to issue an on-air apology. Rooney apologised for his behaviour and said "emotions were running high", but the FA is examining the incident. FA director Sir Trevor Brooking said a decision on whether to charge Rooney will be taken on Monday. Tomorrow [Monday] there will be a decision," Brooking told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek Programme. "It was a surprise, after scoring a hat-trick, to react that way. It is something we will have to look at."

Rooney Apologises After Outburst

Wayne Rooney has apologised but may still be in line for an FA charge after he was heard swearing directly into a TV camera during Manchester United's 4-2 win at West Ham. Rooney, who scored a hat-trick in the game to help his side come from 2-0 down at half-time, shouted the expletive following his third goal and forced an on-air apology from the broadcaster, Sky Sports. But in a statement released by the club, Rooney has put his outburst down to the emotion of putting his side ahead .He said: ''I want to apologise for any offence that may have been caused by my goal celebration, especially any parents or children that were watching.

Emotions were running high and on reflection my heat-of-the-moment reaction was inappropriate. It was not aimed at anyone in particular. ''It is understood that taking action over a player swearing into a camera may be unprecedented, but the FA's rules do appear to have a provision about such behaviour.They state: ''A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.'' An FA spokesperson said: "We will look at it. We obviously don't condone foul and abusive language."Rooney upset England fans during last summer's World Cup when he turned to a television camera and verbally attacked them at the end of the dismal goalless draw with Algeria.

Rio Could Return for Fulham Clash

Injury-plagued Rio Ferdinand has given Manchester United a timely boost by returning to training just two weeks after manager Sir Alex Ferguson had effectively ruled him out for the rest of the season. Ferdinand, 32, has been out of action since picking up a calf strain in the warm-up prior to United's shock defeat at Wolves at the start of February.

After making slow progress in his recovery, Ferguson admitted the club were "not looking at this as a short-term situation" but the former England skipper returned to training on Wednesday and, although he is likely to miss the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea, he has a chance of featuring when United welcome Fulham to Old Trafford on April 9. "He's started training, he trained this morning but I think you know the Friday morning session is not excessive, it's just a light session for the players," said Ferguson. "I could bring him back tomorrow and give him a few days off afterwards but I think he's more likely to be fit for the Fulham game."

Ferguson may ultimately conclude it is worth taking a gamble given none of his other injured defenders will be back to face Chelsea, whilst a few may be available for Fulham. Rafael, John O'Shea and Wes Brown could all tackle Mark Hughes' men. But none of that trio will make the trip to Stamford Bridge, when Johnny Evans will be available as he serves a three-match domestic ban. None of this helps his team selection for Saturday, when Ferguson accepts filling the right-back slot is going to be a major issue. "We have to solve that and find the right solution,'' he said. It seems almost certain Brazilian Fabio will fill the void, with Chris Smalling partnering skipper Nemanja Vidic in central defence.

At least Ferguson finally has options in midfield. Park Ji-Sung could make his first start since he left for Asian Cup duty in Qatar, whilst Anderson is likely to be on the bench at Upton Park after recovering from a knee injury it was initially suggested would rule him out for the season. However, Darren Fletcher is still troubled by a virus, whilst Owen Hargreaves' United career now looks to be at an end following the shoulder problem he picked up in training. "It is another huge setback for the lad,'' said Ferguson.

Rooney Treble Completes Stunning Fight Back

Wayne Rooney scored a dramatic hat-trick as Manchester United produced another sensational late comeback to beat West Ham and edge closer to the Premier League title. United appeared certain to open the door for Arsenal and Chelsea when their defence went into meltdown, gifting the Hammers two first-half penalties which Mark Noble duly dispatched. But the leaders were rewarded for going for broke in the second half, Rooney starting the fightback with just 25 minutes remaining, completing his 14-minute treble from the spot before substitute Javier Hernandez sealed the points.

The result moved United eight points clear ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea before their respective games, while dragging West Ham back into the drop zone on goal difference. Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson spent the build-up to today's game bemoaning refereeing decisions he claimed had gone against his side this season. But United got the rub of the green today, with returning captain Nemanja Vidic lucky to stay on the field when it was still 2-0.

United went into the game having won only four away league games this season and were facing a Hammers side who had won their last three home games in all competitions. They also thrashed United 4-0 in the Carling Cup in November but that was against a weakened side. And the visitors showed they were more serious about today's game in the fourth minute when Robert Green was forced to tip over Chris Smalling's header from Ryan Giggs' fourth-minute corner. United were dominant but fell behind in dramatic fashion in the 10th minute when a long ball from Thomas Hitzlsperger cleared the entire defence to put Carlton Cole clean through. The striker hesitated and Patrice Evra looked to have recovered but the full-back inexplicably handled the ball and Lee Mason rightly pointed to the spot. Noble sent Tomasz Kuszczak - in for the injured Edwin van der Sar - the wrong way and Upton Park erupted, but West Ham were immediately on the back foot again, giving United far too much time and space out wide.

A desperate clearance from Manuel da Costa denied Giggs but the Hammers settled and United pressed the self-destruct button again in the 24th minute. Cole teased Vidic on the edge of the box and the Serbian took the bait, tripping the forward for an obvious foul.It was tight as to whether the offence took place outside the box but Mason had no doubt and Noble blasted penalty number two into the roof of the net. The bizarre pattern of the game continued and United looked certain to pull one back just past the half hour, the fit-again Park Ji-sung blasting a left-foot drive too close to Robert Green, who nevertheless pulled off a superb reaction save.

The visitors' frustration boiled over when Darron Gibson was booked for kicking out at Noble. Hitzlsperger blasted a difficult volley from Gary O'Neils' cross wide and although the visitors ended the half stronger, Vidic pressed the self-destruct button again when he hauled down Demba Ba three minutes from the break. The United captain was last man but was spared a red card, with Mason controversially appearing to decide Ba would not have retrieved the loose ball. Ferguson threw on Hernandez for Evra after the interval, moving Giggs to left-back.

The substitute almost made an instant impression when his improvised flick from Giggs' cross sailed over.Vidic could easily have earned a second yellow card after tangling again with Ba. Rooney, who had orchestrated United's good play in the first half began to look lost. His hesitation soon got him a hefty kick on the ankle from Da Costa, who was rightly yellow carded. United went for broke in the 64th minute when Dimitar Berbatov replaced Park as they were awarded a free-kick, which saw them finally get back in the game as Rooney curled home from 25 yards. Cole was replaced by Frederic Piquionne before Green saved from Berbatov from the tightest of angles. Rooney came to the rescue again when Antonio Valencia's ball found him on the edge of the box and West Ham's defence allowed him to take a touch and fire low across Green.

United were rampant and were awarded a penalty of their own for handball with 12 minutes remaining. Fabio's skill left Matthew Upson on the deck and when the defender got back up, the full-back kicked the ball against his arm. While the Hammers opposed the decision Rooney stepped up to complete the most unlikely of hat-tricks. Gibson should have made it 4-2 before West Ham threw on Victor Obinna and Robbie Keane for O'Neil and Noble. Smalling survived another handball shout before Hernandez pounced on a piece of terrible defending six minutes from time to turn in Giggs' cross. Rooney was withdrawn for Nani as United comfortably saw out their latest fightback.