Absentees mount up for United

Published: 02 Nov 2009 - 11:41:54

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// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Manchester United look set to be without a host of first-team stars, including Wayne Rooney, for the UEFA Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow. The England international missed training on Monday ahead of the match at Old Trafford as speculation mounted that his wife Coleen was about to give birth to their first child. The 24-year-old only returned from a calf injury against Liverpool last week but the striker's absence is thought to be due to the imminent birth of his first child with the baby already nine days overdue. Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs were also missing from training after all three missed the 2-0 win over Blackburn at the weekend. Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Vidic (calf) can recover in time for the top-of-the-table match with Chelsea on Sunday while he is less optimistic about defensive partner Ferdinand (calf) and Giggs (knee). Also absent was forward Dimitar Berbatov although winger Park Ji-sung was able to train after a recent knee injury. Ferguson had stated on Friday that the South Korean international was expected to be out for another two weeks but it seems the 28-year-old's fluid on his knee has reduced significantly. Three points against the Russian champions would seal the Red Devils' passage into the knock-out phase of the competition.