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Fletcher to face Schalke, Rooney has hamstring problem

Sir Alex Ferguson's side find themselves under pressure © PA Photos

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Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Darren Fletcher will feature in the second leg of Manchester United's Champions League semi-final with Schalke, but Wayne Rooney could miss out.

United welcome the Bundesliga side to Old Trafford defending a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Ryan Giggs and Rooney scored in Gelsenkirchen. However, Rooney was missing from Tuesday's training session and Ferguson revealed it was injury-related.

The England forward has a hamstring problem and, with a potential Premier League title decider on the horizon against Chelsea, Rooney may not be risked on Wednesday night.

"Wayne didn't train today, he had a tight hamstring," Ferguson said. "We'll see how he is tomorrow."

Fletcher has not featured for United since their March defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. The industrious midfielder has been suffering from a virus, but Ferguson revealed he will figure ahead of the Chelsea clash.

"Darren Fletcher will play part of the game tomorrow night. He's working hard and he'll be involved," said the United boss.

"He's showed great improvement from his reserve game last week, he's done a lot of good work and his weight is back to normal. It's just that issue of game time and more strength work that he needs, but he will play some part tomorrow."

The Chelsea fixture has become a far more significant game for United on paper following their defeat to Arsenal at the weekend. However, Schalke managed to beat Inter Milan 5-2 at the San Siro during the Champions League quarter-finals, so Ferguson warned his players not to ease up with one eye on the title race.

"I hope nobody is complacent tomorrow night. We won't be, the work ethic will be very high," he said.

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