The Hindu : Sport / Football : Rooney, Ferdinand back for Champions League clash

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Tuesday, Sep 14, 2010
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Rooney, Ferdinand back for Champions League clash

MANCHESTER: Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand are set to return for Manchester United for the Champions League Group ‘C' match against Rangers at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Rooney was left out of United's squad for its Premier League match against Everton on Saturday, as manager Alex Ferguson looked to protect the England striker from crowd abuse following tabloid allegations about his private life.

Ferdinand is fit again after injuring his knee just before the start of the World Cup, and could start at centre-back for the former champion.

It is the third time in five years United has been drawn alongside a Scottish side in group play, having met Celtic in 2006-07 and 2008-09. “Celtic came down here a couple of years ago, so we know what to expect from the top teams in Scotland,” United defender Jonny Evans said.

In Group ‘A', Tottenham Hotspur will make its debut against Werder Bremen on Tuesday. Spurs is back among Europe football's elite after a 48-year absence and travels to Bremen's Weserstadion without England striker Jermain Defoe who has been ruled out for up to three months with ligament damage.

England defender Matthew Dawson is also missing with a medial ligament injury and both are expected to miss Tottenham's entire Champions League group stage programme.

Bremen is without centre-back Per Mertesacker who fractured an eye-socket playing for Germany in a Euro 2012 qualifier last week. Brazilian defender Naldo and striker Claudio Pizarro may miss the game as they struggle to overcome knee injuries.

Even with defenders Mertesacker, and possibly Naldo out, Bremen can rely on its second-string defence as Sebastian Proedl und Petri Pasanen kept Bayern Munich's star-studded attack at bay recently.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted he has concerns ahead of the game after playmaker Luka Modric limped out of the 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

But Redknapp gave debuts to new signings midfielder Rafael van der Vaart and former Arsenal defender William Gallas who look set to play in Bremen.

The fixtures:

On Tuesday: Group ‘A' Twente v Inter Milan; Werder Bremen v Tottenham. Group ‘B': Lyon v Schalke; Benfica v Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Group C: Man United v Rangers; Bursaspor v Valencia. G roup ‘D': Barcelona v Panathinaikos; Copenhagen v Rubin Kazan.

On Wednesday: Group ‘E': Bayern Munich v Roma; CFR Cluj v Basel. Group ‘F': Marseille v Spartak Moscow; Zilina v Chelsea. Group ‘G': Real Madrid v Ajax; AC Milan v Auxerre. Group ‘H': Arsenal v Sporting Braga; Shakhtar Donetsk v Partizan Belgrade . — Agencies

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