Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney will miss their sides Premier League clash with Liverpool as well as Saturday’s FA Cup tie against West Ham United.

Rooney sustained a minor knee injury during training on Christmas Day, and was initially believed to be sidelined for a fortnight.

 However, the Manchester United manager has revealed that the 27-year-old is expected to be out for a further two weeks, missing the highly anticipated tie with The Reds on the January 13th.

“Wayne is still injured,” said Ferguson. “It is not serious but it is going to take longer than we thought, probably another two weeks. He won’t be fit for Liverpool”

 Some positive news for The Red Devils will be that Phil Jones is believed to be back in training this week, as is Portugeuse winger Nani.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted heavily that Daniel Sturridge could be set to play in a central position with his new club, and that Luis Suarez could be asked to perform a different role as a result.

Sturridge was unveiled as a Liverpool player on Wednesday after holding talks with the club throughout December.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez has enjoyed a successful season to date as the Reds’ frontman, with his 15 Premier League goals this season placing him behind only Robin van Persie in the Premier League scoring charts.

However, the Guardian quotes Rodgers as saying he would be prepared to move Suarez out wide: “For the common good of the team.”

The former Swansea and Reading boss went on to deny suggestions that the transfer could have an adverse effect on Suarez’s form.

“That is not the case at all,” said the 39-year-old. “It is not a problem having top players. Don’t talk about problems with players. We need good players.

“I spoke with Luis at length on it a number of times. This has been in the plan for a few months.

“When he played at Ajax he played in behind as a number 10, inbetween the lines, and he played as a reverse winger from the left side so he wasn’t quite out wide – he was tucked in round the corner.

“Wherever he plays he will make the same movements and he will find the space because he is a world class player.

“Daniel’s best position is as a central striker,” he continued. “I have said that 4-3-3 will become richer because of the type of players. There is not one way to play 4-3-3.

“You can have one up and two wingers, a floating nine like Luis Suarez, you can have one like Daniel Sturridge central, two in around him narrow with full backs bombing on.

“I think for Daniel his best position will be straight through the middle with his pace,” he added.

EXCLUSIVE
By Liam Twomey

Southampton starlet Matt Targett is being tracked by Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, Goal.com understands.

The 17-year-old left-back is regarded as one of the jewels of the Saints academy and the long-term successor to Luke Shaw, whose own future is the subject of intense speculation.

Shaw has been consistently impressive in the Premier League this season, and boss Nigel Adkins felt compelled to warn off potential suitors before he again caught the eye in Tuesday’s goalless draw with the Gunners.

But Targett, too, has been attracting the attention of some of the country’s biggest clubs with a string of promising displays for Southampton reserves in the Under-21 Premier League.

While only two months younger than Shaw, Targett would be available at a considerably lower price, due to his lesser profile and the fact he has yet to sign professional terms with the Saints.

Under the new rules laid down by the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), players under the age of 18 on youth contracts can be transferred for a fixed fee determined by the player’s length of service in the selling club’s academy.

Consequently, despite Targett having been with the Saints – his boyhood club – since the age of eight, any transfer fee would be only a fraction of the £9 million received for fellow youth graduate Theo Walcott, or the £12m Arsenal paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in August 2011.

Southampton’s academy enjoys Category One status – the highest possible rating – under the new system, but this has no bearing on the fees they are entitled to receive for their youth products.

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