Rooney could figure in Aviva friendly

Soccer: Wayne Rooney and the rest of Manchester United’s World Cup contingent could feature in the forthcoming match against…

Soccer:Wayne Rooney and the rest of Manchester United's World Cup contingent could feature in the forthcoming match against an Aircity League XI to mark the opening of the new Aviva Stadium.

United manager Alex Ferguson has confirmed the players could come into consideration for the friendly on August 4th, even though they are not due to return to training until Wednesday.

Ferguson said: “They have a chance of playing in that. It depends on their progress when they come back on July 28th.”

Apart from Rooney, Michael Carrick, Patrice Evra, Park Ji-sung and Nemanja Vidic could all come into contention for the showpiece match in Dublin.

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United do have a number of injuries with Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia, Owen Hargreaves and Anderson all absent from the summer tour.

Meanwhile, Ferguson said he “could not clarify” Vidic’s future with the Serbian defender linked to a move away from Old Trafford. When pressed on whether Vidic would be a Manchester United player next season, Ferguson responded: “I believe so.”