Strike duo out for United

            Rooney and Hernandez out of Champions League c



"Hernandez: Ruled out of European game against Basel"

Javier Hernandez will join Wayne Rooney in missing the game against Basel, while Manchester United could be without a number of other senior players for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash.

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed after the draw with Stoke on Saturday that Rooney was likely to be sidelined for 'more than a week' after sitting out the Britannia Stadium encounter with a hamstring injury.
It has now been confirmed that Rooney will miss the match against Basel after taking no part in training at United's Carrington headquarters on Monday morning.
Rooney's regular strike partner Hernandez, who limped off early in the Stoke game with a dead leg following a challenge by Jonathan Woodgate, has also failed to recover in time to face the Swiss outfit.

Ferguson will therefore be choosing between Michael Owen, fit-again Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov in his attack.

Berbatov has had limited opportunities to impress during the early part of the season but Ferguson maintains that he is still a vital part of his plans.
"He is one of our squad members and they all have a part to play in the context of the number of games we have," said Ferguson.
"It is an exhausting season unless you use all your squad."

Emergency

But the problems do not stop there for United, with central defenders Jonny Evans (ankle), Chris Smalling (groin) and Nemanja Vidic (calf) also absent from training on Monday.

That is almost certain to mean Rio Ferdinand lining up alongside youngster Phil Jones against Basel, with Antonio Valencia again pressed into service as an emergency right-back as Rafael (shoulder) is out with a long-term problem.

Fellow long-term casualties Tom Cleverley (foot) and Darron Gibson (ankle) have long since been ruled out.
United drew their opening match with Benfica in Lisbon a fortnight ago, while Basel are group leaders after defeating Romanian side Otelul Galati in their first game.

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