WAYNE ROONEY is fit to go for Manchester United at Sunderland on Sunday

WAYNE ROONEY is fit and raring to go for Manchester United at Sunderland on Sunday.

The 34-goal striker has shrugged off a groin strain and returns to training today.

United boss Alex Ferguson had feared Rooney's season was over after he suffered the injury eight days ago.

But the 24-year-old has once again defied medical opinion to declare himself fit and give United a massive boost in the Premier League title race.

Rooney has had a number of injury problems in the last two months.

He first started to suffer from an inflamed kneecap and then damaged tendons in his ankle in the Champions League quarter-final in Bayern Munich.

Despite being on crutches and having a foot cast he missed only one game and was back for the return tie with Bayern.

He aggravated the injury in that game but returned for the Manchester derby before picking up his latest groin problem during a training session.

Rio Ferdinand, who has missed the last two games with a groin injury, will also train today and believes he will be fit for the Sunderland game.

Arshavin admire to Barcelona

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he's been left disappointed by comments from Andrey Arshavin revealing the Russian's admiration for Barcelona.

The 28-year-old - signed from Zenit St Petersburg during January last year - is currently battling to be fit due to a calf problem, and may not make the trip to Blackburn on Monday night.
Earlier this week, though, the Russian playmaker talked up Barcelona, who knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League, and claimed playing for the Spanish giants at some stage would be "would be the peak of my career".
It is not the first time such quotes attributed to Arshavin have hit the headlines, the Russian having questioned Arsenal's direction more than once during a season of frustration.
While Wenger continues to take such stories with a pinch of salt, given their source from overseas, the Arsenal manager firmly believes his team must commit 100 per cent to the Gunners' cause.
"Yes, I am very disappointed because he shows a completely different attitude," said Wenger.
"He wants to extend his contract with us and stay with us, so the noise coming out of Russia is very difficult to explain.
"He looks to be very happy here, so you should ask him where it comes from."
Wenger declared: "We do not, of course, accept that. When you are at Arsenal, you are at Arsenal. When you are somewhere else, you are somewhere else.
"I believe that your pride makes first that you defend your club.
"Everybody has the freedom to speak, but you want to make sure first of all that you respect your club."
Wenger, though, reflected: "I just put one question mark behind the things that come back translated.
"Usually you have direct access to him, you can ask him where that comes from.
"I don't forbid you to talk to him, but I take with a little bit of distance what comes back translated sometimes with the help of some agents who want to move the players."
Wenger, though, concedes he will need to strengthen his squad after another campaign, which was blighted by injury to key men, failed to deliver a trophy.
Marouane Chamakh's arrival is set to be officially confirmed once the Morocco striker's contract with Bordeaux expires in the summer.
William Gallas, Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre will all see their deals finish at the end of the season, so Wenger may well look to bolster his defence, with Fulham centre-back Brede Hangeland a potential target.
"I will try to do what I want to do as quickly as possible, but it does not only depend on me," he said.
"Certainly, we will announce one player before the World Cup, but after that we will see."
Wenger, however, maintains his playing staff does not need major surgery, saying: "I believe in the squad I have and if I can make an addition to the squad - two or three maximum - then we will do it."

Luka Modric is MAN UTD No 1 summer transfer target

MANCHESTER UNITED have made Luka Modric their No 1 summer transfer target.

The Red Devils are preparing a £25million bid for Tottenham's 24-year-old Croatian midfielder.

United boss Alex Ferguson sees Modric as a young Paul Scholes, an attacking midfielder and ball player who can make United tick.

Fergie was even full of praise for Modric in his programme notes ahead of their 3-1 home win over Spurs on Saturday.

Talking about the 5ft 8in player and other small talents in football he commented: "And I give you another wee man who'll be at Old Trafford this afternoon: Luka Modric, who is playing out of his skin at the moment."

Modric signed for Spurs from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 after impressing for Croatia in the European Championships.

He signed a six-year contract after the clubs agreed a £16.5m fee.

Modric struggled early in his first season as he was played out of position by Juande Ramos as a deep-lying midfielder and also had knee trouble.

It was only when Harry Redknapp took over and pushed him further forward that his career at White Hart Lane took off.

His start to this season was curtailed by a broken leg in August but he returned in December and has been in great form during Spurs' push for a Champions League spot.

The move for Modric is bad news for Michael Carrick, who looks to have lost favour with Ferguson.

Carrick has only started one of the last five games after two poor performances against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Spurs boss Redknapp is a huge fan of Carrick and may insist on him being part of any Modric deal.

Barcelona 1-0 Inter - Inter through to Champions League final

Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan into "paradise" as the Italians reached the Champions League final following a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona.

Inter held a 3-1 lead from the first leg but were forced to dig deep after Thiago Motta was sent off two minutes short of the half-hour mark.
The Italians defended heroically throughout and held on to advance to next month's final in Madrid, despite Gerard Pique's late goal.
And Mourinho says this victory will be talked about for decades in Italy.
"It was epic and perfect - in 40 years they will talk about this team's heroics in Barcelona," he said after the match.
"My team is in paradise with this victory," he added.
Mourinho was delighted to beat a Barcelona side that had won everything in sight last year and that he considers to be the very best.
"We beat the best team around and I am happy, but we have three finals left," he said, in reference to his side's pursuit of a league, cup and Champions League treble.
"I hope the fans enjoy the win and go to meet the players at the airport - if I could I would give my players a week off because they deserve it, but we have a game at the weekend," he said.
And Mourinho, who admitted he is a bad loser, believes his side deserved a draw on the night.
"To lose the game 1-0 is the biggest defeat of my life - we deserved a 0-0," he said.
Mourinho was forced to change striker Goran Pandev for defender Cristian Chivu after the former picked up an injury in the warm-up, and the Portuguese coach says that switch limited Inter's attacking aspirations.
"The game started badly because Pandev couldn't play. I had to change and play Chivu, who played an exceptional game, but he is very defensive and we lost a lot of our attacking options with that change," he said.
But Inter prevailed to reach a European Cup final for the first time since 1972.
The Italians face Louis van Gaal's Bayern Munich in Madrid on May 22 and Mourinho is relishing the meeting with his former mentor at Barcelona.
"Louis is a winner and I'm a winner - we will both want to win and we are both going for three trophies, so we are in a similar position and neither of us will be saving ourselves for the final, which I think is a good thing," he said.
Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was philosophical in defeat.
"Congratulations to Inter, they have beaten us over two games and good luck to them - any team can choose how they play and I have no complaints," he said.
"We tried through the middle and down the wings, but we couldn't find a way through - it was difficult because there was no space between their defence and their midfield and they defended very well," he added.
Having won six trophies in 2009, Barca's sole chance of a trophy is now in the domestic league this season, and Guardiola says his players will be in the right frame of mind for this weekend's tough game at Villarreal.
"We'll pick ourselves up, the players are professional and they will want to win the league," he said.

CRISTIANO RONALDO is already planning his Real Madrid exit

CRISTIANO RONALDO is already planning his Real Madrid exit.

Ex-Manchester United superstar Ronaldo moved to the Bernabeu in a world record £80million move last summer.

But the Portugal striker admits he will not finish his career with the Spanish giants.

Ronaldo, 25, insists he will call time on his stay in Madrid once he has a similar haul of silverware to what he won at Old Trafford.

During his time at United, Ronaldo claimed three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and the Champions League.

He was also crowned World Player of the Year in 2008 after smashing an astonishing 42 goals in the 2007-2008 season.

Ronaldo said: "Football is all about cycles. I believe that you are in teams for cycles.

"If you have already won everything with a team you have to change and that's what happened to me with United.

"I wanted a different football and different goals and I am very happy to have taken this decision. Alex Ferguson understood my decision. I continue to talk to him.

"I spent several years wanting to play in Madrid but I don't see myself here at 40."

Despite spending over £200m last summer, Real face the very real prospect of ending the year empty handed.

Manuel Pellegrini's men are a point behind Barcelona with four games left to play.

But Ronaldo believes Real will pip the defending champions to the title.

He is also hoping his Portuguese compatriot Jose Mourinho can do them a favour tonight by defeating Barca in their Champions League semi-final.

Ronaldo added: "It will be an incredible game. It will be difficult for both of them.

"Barca has to come back and Inter have to defend the two goals.

"It's very difficult to know who I want to win, although I would prefer Barca to lose and be eliminated.

"I am from Real Madrid and I like my club and if Barcelona crash out of Europe it would be something that could affect them in the league and which we could take advantage of.

"It would be a bad year if we don't win the league because a club like this has to always win something every year.

"Not winning this year wouldn't be a failure, but it would be a lost year. But I am confident we can win the league."

West Ham - Zola leaving is possible

West Ham co-owner David Gold admits there is a very real possibility that efforts to persuade Gianfranco Zola to stay as manager may fail.

The future of the Hammers boss is in doubt after Gold's partner David Sullivan claimed on Wednesday that the Italian could resign at the end of the season.
Zola has not enjoyed the best relationship with the former Birmingham City owners since they rescued the debt-ridden club from the brink of administration with a £50million takeover in January.
Zola clashed with the pair over the club's decision to complain to the Premier League about Fulham's weakened team against Hull, while Sullivan's description of the team's performance against Wolves as "pathetic" did little to ease tensions between the two parties.
With West Ham now all but assured of their top-flight status, Zola is thought to be considering leaving the club.
Gold denied that Steve McClaren and Avram Grant had been contacted about taking over from Zola, but he concedes that the diminutive Italian may leave Upton Park after the club's remaining games against Fulham and Manchester City.
"I have not spoken to, and am not speaking to, any other managers about taking over at West Ham," Gold said.
"I haven't spoken to Franco since Sunday but what I do know is that he's preparing for the away match at Fulham (on Sunday).
"I'm going to the training ground on Friday as usual. I'll talk to him then.
"I hope he stays, but him leaving is a scenario, it is a possibility.
"He has had a tough time. He's had two years at West Ham and for a good part of that time he didn't know who was running the club. He's had bad luck as well.
"He could say 'I have done a fantastic job, I have got West Ham out of jail when I was given a chance and I have managed to go through all that and keep West Ham in the Premier League'.
"You could make a case for it. Do I believe that he will? There's always a possibility."
Gold also sought to dampen fears that the likes of Matthew Upson, Robert Green and Carlton Cole could leave Upton Park as part of a fire sale this summer.
"I hope our best players will be with us next season," Gold said.
"I hope they sign new contracts and remain settled at the club.

Mancini wants to sell Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Stephen Ireland

ROBERTO MANCINI is ready to dump £50million worth of talent out of Manchester City in the summer.

He will also demand full power over all transfers in and out of Eastlands.

Boss Mancini wants to sell Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Stephen Ireland.

A £50million bid for Fernando Torres will kick off his efforts to reshape the side.

The Italian is close to leading City into the Champions League for the first time and planning radical changes he regards as vital to help him lift the Premier League title in 2010-11.

Adebayor, 26, cost £25m from Arsenal last year and has hit 13 goals in 28 games.

Wright-Phillips, 28, returned to City in August 2008 for £8.5m from Chelsea.

Mancini has started him in only six games, while the player has been at odds with the manager on the training ground and with the club over a new contract.

Bridge, 29, cost £10m from Chelsea in January 2009.

His season has been hit by injury and personal problems involving his ex-fiancee Vanessa Perroncel and former Chelsea pal John Terry.

Midfielder Ireland, 23, has been with the club since he was 15.

Bayern 3 -0 Lyon - Ivica Olic's hat-trick

Ivica Olic's hat-trick helped Bayern Munich into their first Champions League final since 2001 with a 4-0 aggregate defeat of 10-man Lyon.

Olic had already ensured Bayern had one foot in the final with a 26th-minute strike when Lyon had captain Cris harshly dismissed on the hour mark.
The Croatia striker served the killer blow in the 67th minute and capped a great night for him and his team 11 minutes later when he headed home his seventh goal in nine Champions League appearances to seal Bayern's place in Europe's showpiece event at the Bernabeu following a 3-0 victory on the night.
With Bayern bringing a 1-0 first-leg lead to the Stade Gerland, Lyon knew they had to score twice to reach their first ever final.
However, they almost got off to the worst possible start when, with less than two minutes on the clock, Olic crossed in towards Thomas Muller who should have finished comfortably but the striker fired wide of the right upright with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Les Gones could have reignited the tie minutes later as a corner was headed on towards an unmarked Cris at the far post but the ball was just too high for him to get any direction on it.
And they were left with a mountain to climb shortly before the half-hour mark when Arjen Robben played in a lovely ball to Muller.
He was swiftly closed down by two Lyon defenders but managed to cut it back to Olic who spun and fired home.
The hosts should have swiftly levelled as Michel Bastos got on the end of Sidney Govou's cross but the Brazilian, who was completely unmarked, fired wide of the right post.
It was almost worse for Lyon moments later when Robben let fly from outside the area and the shot took a slight deflection before brushing past the right upright.
Bayern came out after the break determined to finish the job and they came close to doing so shortly after the restart as first Bastian Schweinsteiger drove in a 25-yard thunderbolt which flew just over before Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was called into action to prevent what seemed a certain second.
Muller played a ball across the outside of the area to Robben who took a couple of steps before letting fly but Lloris pulled off a good stop to deflect it out for a corner.
The Lyon goalkeeper, reportedly a target for the Bundesliga giants, almost went swiftly from hero to villain as, from the ensuing corner, Lloris was stranded in no-man's land as he took his eyes off the ball but fortunately so too did the Bayern attack and it floated harmlessly out of danger.
Lyon saw their final hopes slip away on the hour mark when Cris was booked for a challenge and was then shown a second yellow for ironically applauding the referee.
To add insult to injury replays showed that the Lyon captain's challenge was a fair one.
However, that seemed to spark Lyon into life and moments later they had their first shot on target when Bayern goalkeeper Jorg Butt, who had been largely a spectator until then, was called on to keep out a powerful Govou effort.
Yet it was during Lyon's best period that Bayern served the killer blow.
Hamit Altintop sent a brilliant ball through to Olic who beat the offside trap with a perfectly-timed run and slotted a diagonal shot into the bottom right corner.
Bayern should have extended their lead moments later but Lloris pulled off a fantastic stop to deny Robben before Jean Makoun's challenge stole the ball off Olic as he was about to let fly with his hat-trick in his sights.
Olic did score a third moments later, however, when he headed home Philip Lahm's cross from the centre of the area.

Shelvey set for £1.7m Liverpool switch

Charlton forward Jonjo Shelvey was on Tuesday evening undergoing a medical at Liverpool after the sides agreed a fee for highly-rated teenager.

The Addicks confirmed on their website the clubs had agreed an initial fee of £1.7million for the 18-year-old, who travelled to Merseyside on Wednesday for talks and a medical.
A statement said: "As part of the potential transfer, the two clubs are also in talks to develop a strategic partnership involving the development of players in both directions."
The results of the medical will be known on Wednesday.
Shelvey holds the record as Charlton's youngest ever player, having made his debut in April 2008 at the age of 16 years and 59 days.
The England youth international has scored eight goals in 48 games for the Addicks.
Charlton chairman Richard Murray revealed earlier in the day there had been interest in the player but claimed they were "some way off doing a deal".
Big-money moves are likely to be at a premium at Anfield this summer with uncertainty surrounding the future of both the club's owners and manager Rafa Benitez, who has been linked with a move to Juventus.

ALEX FERGUSON will not retire at the end of next season

ALEX FERGUSON will not retire at the end of next season. That's it. End of story. Or is it?

In denying widespread reports he will quit in a year's time, Ferguson gave no hint as to when he will call it a day at Manchester United.

And it's not knowing what Fergie's plans are that's driving others at Old Trafford to make contingency plans.

The way things stand, Ferguson has a tacit understanding with the club that he can quit at a day's notice.

It's something United chief executive David Gill is acutely aware of.

Ensuring the smooth and successful running of the world's richest club is Gill's responsibility but having such an all-powerful and unpredictable man in charge of the team makes that job more difficult.

All attempts by the media to get a definitive answer from Fergie about when he will step down have failed.

But faced with the very real prospect that the man who has been in charge for the last 23½ years could suddenly announce his departure this summer, United have taken action.

At least two candidates to replace Ferguson have been pencilled in by United in the last few weeks.

The situation has been explained to them - just in case 'the gaffer' retires.

It's unclear if Ferguson is fully aware that such conversations have taken place but he certainly knows one of the men involved.

Intriguingly, it's understood that neither of the men favoured by Ferguson to replace him - David Moyes and Martin O'Neill - have been sounded out.

As far as United are concerned, there is nothing underhand as they are only acting in the best interests of the club.

United are also aware that in addressing retirement reports last week, Fergie only denied that he would retire at the end of NEXT season.

On the face of it, if United win a record-breaking 19th league title this season, the temptation to go out on a high could be very hard to resist.

Even for a man who has overseen the most successful period in the club's history, overtaking Liverpool's haul of titles would be considered the crowning glory.

On taking the job back in November 1986, he infamously declared that his ambition was to knock "that club off their f***ing perch".

But picking the right time to go has become an increasingly difficult task for the 68-year-old boss.

He reneged on the original plan to leave at the end of the 2000-01 season.

A chat with his wife, Kathy, on January 1 2001 - the day after his 60th birthday - convinced him he was 'mad' to give it up so soon.

Five league titles, a European Cup, an FA Cup and three League Cups since then have proved he made the right call.

But the signs are that even the most successful manager in the history of British football is becoming weary.

Had he clinched a third Champions League win against Barcelona last season, he may have called it a day.

Since then, even those closest to Ferguson have had little indication as to when he will eventually step down.

But even though only one person knows the truth, plans are in place to deal with the end of the most distinguished managerial reign in the history of football.

Fergie to retire at the end of this season? Don't rule it out.

Gerrard - We still chase for title

STEVEN GERRARD vows to give bitter rivals Manchester United a massive title boost by beating Chelsea on Sunday.

Gerrard insists Liverpool will not roll over - even if it hands United a fourth straight Premier League crown.

He said: "We have a couple of games left and the idea is to take maximum points and see if we can get into the Champions League through the back door.

"If we take maximum points, who knows? The teams above us might slip up. All we have done is keep the pressure on.

"We won't give up but it would be stupid of me to say this or that is going to happen - it's important to be realistic.

"We are underdogs for fourth position but our fans also know we've got Everton breathing down our necks and we certainly don't want them finishing above us."

Kop fans know even a draw would make United, who play at Sunderland later in the day, favourites for a 19th top-flight title - one ahead of Liverpool.

Gerrard scored twice in the 4-0 rout at Burnley on Sunday as Liverpool made light of crocked Fernando Torres' absence.

He said: "When you can't score and lose your top striker it can damage belief and affect confidence but this was much better."

Manchester City make keeper loan request

Manchester City have made a formal request to the Premier League in a bid to be able to sign a goalkeeper on an emergency loan.

City are unlikely to bring Joe Hart back from Birmingham because there is a 'no-recall clause' in his season-long loan deal.
Shay Given will see two specialists in the next 72 hours after dislocating his shoulder against Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.
City have three Premier League games remaining and the club's request for an emergency goalkeeper will be considered by the Premier League Board, who have ultimate responsibility for any decision.
City's number two goalkeeper, Stuart Taylor, is still not fit after a knee operation and fourth choice David Gonzalez is still suffering from a groin injury.
It leaves Faroe Islands international Gunnar Nielsen as first in line and academy player Loris Karius providing cover.

Aquilani injured!! Has been ruled out to face Benfica!

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has been ruled out of Thursday night's Europa League quarter-final first leg clash with Benfica.

The Italy international sustained an ankle injury in training on Wednesday morning and will not fly out with the squad to Lisbon later in the day.
"He will not be available for this game," said manager Rafael Benitez.
"He had a problem with his ankle and we have to fix it.
"It doesn't seem too serious but it's the same ankle as before and so we'll have to analyse the situation carefully."
Aquilani arrived in the summer after a £17million move from Roma with an ankle injury which had ruled him out of the latter stages of the 2008-09 Serie A season.
It took a while for him to regain match fitness and, as a result, he has made just eight starts and 11 substitute appearances this season.
Benitez also confirmed defender Martin Kelly will undergo a knee operation today which will rule him out of action for the rest of the season.
The 19-year-old defender tore the meniscus - a similar problem to the one which resulted in striker Fernando Torres having surgery in January which sidelined him for five weeks - in training on Saturday

Rooney confirm injured 1 month! Good for England! Bad for Manchester United!

WAYNE ROONEY received a World Cup boost today as he was told he had only suffered minor ankle ligament damage.

Manchester United star Rooney had a scan yesterday when he returned to the UK after the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

United have confirmed it showed there is no break, which means Rooney's presence in South Africa should not be threatened.

But the injury is expected to rule him out for a month, although United boss Alex Ferguson will reveal the full extent of the injury tomorrow morning.

A United spokesperson said: "We are pleased to report that Wayne has not suffered a fracture.

"The scan revealed only minor ligament damage."

Rooney could be back in action for the Champions League semi-final, providing United overhaul Bayern's 2-1 first-leg advantage.

A four-week spell on the sidelines would have him back in action in time to face Sunderland on May 1.