Wayne Rooney given some time in the sun

Manchester United have sent Wayne Rooney for some warm weather training in an attempt to get him fit for the January 19th trip to Chelsea.

Manager David Moyes today confirmed both Rooney and strike partner Robin van Persie will miss Saturday's Premier League encounter with Swansea at Old Trafford.

Moyes said Van Persie would still be absent for “a little while” with a long-standing thigh injury, while hoping Rooney would respond to the better temperatures.

“We have sent Wayne away on a hot weather break,” said Moyes. “His groin has not quite recovered yet. We have sent a fitness coach with him. He’s away with the family. Hopefully we will get him fit for Chelsea.”

Rooney has missed United’s defeats to Swansea and Sunderland in the last week, having had a scan on his groin injury last Friday.

Chelsea manager José Mourinho today refused to be drawn on reports of renewed interest in in Rooney. The Blues had two bids for Rooney rejected in the summer and there has been speculation Mourinho is ready to pounce and take advantage to snare the England striker if United fail to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the season.

Asked about Rooney, who is entering the final 18 months of his contract at Old Trafford, Mourinho shook his head and insisted he was not prepared to speak about a player from a team Chelsea are scheduled to face a week on Sunday.

“I don’t want to speak about it,” Mourinho said. “We play Man United in a few days. I don’t think it’s nice to speak about a Man United player. You have to ask him (Rooney). You have to ask the player. And Man United because Man United has a contract with the player that doesn’t end at the end of the season.”

Mourinho does not anticipate United will struggle to finish in the top four, despite them being five points adrift in seventh with 18 games left this season.

“I don’t think they have a problem,” the Chelsea boss added. “In this moment they are not top four in the Premier League, but they can be at the end of the season. A new manager, but a club with a fantastic culture of supporting the manager. I don’t feel any problem for David. He works. Better results will arrive and he will be for many years in the club and will reach good results.”

Van Persie has not featured since the home defeat by Newcastle on December 7th, his only game since the middle of November.

“Robin is not available,” said Moyes. “He is going to be a little while. We are doing everything we can to get him back as quickly as we can.”

The situation does place even more scrutiny on Moyes’s work in the transfer window, although he repeated his stance that getting the right players in January is not straightforward.

“The plan and decisions won’t change,” he said. “It is difficult to get targets at this time. I have said that from day one. I have not said we wouldn’t be doing it but it is difficult.”

Moyes, meanwhile, has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his comments made about the match officials after the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final.

Moyes had berated referee Andre Marriner and his officials for the "terrible" decisions that led to Ryan Giggs's own-goal and a penalty winner by Fabio Borini. He said of the officials: "We're having to play them as well as the opposition at the moment. It's really terrible, it really is. We're actually beginning to laugh at them, that's the thing."

Giggs's own-goal came after Marriner blew for a free-kick when Jonny Evans challenged Steven Fletcher and Sebastian Larsson's ball into the area led to Sunderland taking the lead on half-time.

“I thought the referee was going to blow in our direction for the first goal,” Moyes said. “I couldn’t believe he gave a free-kick. It was a terrible decision. We defended a terrible free-kick but how the referee has given a free-kick for that is way beyond me. I just cannot see how that is a free-kick. The centre-half and the centre-forward jumped together and he gave them a free-kick.”

PA