DOHA, Qatar — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney's fitness is improving and he will be assessed Thursday to see if he is ready to play again.
Rooney, who had been training in the United States, is back in England and was due to practice Wednesday but Ferguson wouldn't say when he would play a competitive match.
After persuading Rooney to stay with the club following newspaper allegations that he cheated on his pregnant wife with a prostitute, United sent the striker to train with sponsor Nike to help him recover from an ankle injury that has kept him out of action for three weeks.
Ferguson says Rooney "has done well" in Oregon but that he needs to see him on the practice field.