Wayne Rooney is expected to start his first match since Boxing Day when Newcastle United arrive at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The England international didnÂ’t feature at all in the RedsÂ’ recent clashes with West Ham or Birmingham City and played just 20 minutes in the FA Cup at Villa Park last weekend.
Speculation surrounding RooneyÂ’s no-shows reached feverish heights after the Cup match, with some media outlets suggesting the RedsÂ’ no.10 was being punished for going out on New YearÂ’s Eve.
However, in todayÂ’s programme notes, United boss Sir Alex reveals it was a simple case of illness and injury.
“There were a lot of rumours flying about as to why Wayne was not in the starting line-up,” Ferguson writes. “The simple truth is that Wayne missed the Birmingham game with sickness and we left him behind when we went to West Ham because he had developed a bit of an injury niggle.
“He was about 90 per cent fit by the time of the Cup tie so I judged he was best left on the bench. There was nothing sinister behind his omission, just a boring injury story that is sometimes not good enough to satisfy people’s desire for a conspiracy theory!”