Fergie upbeat over Rooney fitness

SIR Alex Ferguson hopes to have Wayne Rooney back for next Sunday’s trip to Tottenham in the Barclays Premier League.

The Manchester United manager expected to have his star striker available for yesterday’s 1–0 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford.

But after experiencing discomfort with the ankle injury he sustained at West Brom on New Year’s Day during training on Friday, Ferguson decided it was not worth risking the England forward in the FA Cup tie.

Instead, he will have more treatment this week in a bid to be fit for the eagerly–awaited White Hart Lane encounter.

The United boss also expects skipper Nemanja Vidic to be fit, although Edwin van der Sar might need another week to recover from a flu virus that has laid him low for all three games in 2011 so far.

Thankfully for the Scot, his side were able to sneak past Liverpool without that trio thanks to a controversial second–minute penalty from Ryan Giggs.

Though there was plenty of debate about what contact there had been from Daniel Agger to send Dimitar Berbatov tumbling in the first place, Giggs was not too concerned as he earned United a fourth–round trip to Southampton, with Ferguson adamant referee Howard Webb made the correct call.

The United camp also felt Webb made the right decision in the other pivotal moment of the game, when Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard was sent off for a first–half lunge on Michael Carrick.

Ferguson was pleased with the way his side controlled the remainder of the game, even if he was disappointed they were unable to build on their advantage against a Liverpool side still getting used to having Kenny Dalglish in charge for a second time.