Manchester United captain Rooney doubtful for Chelsea clash as de Gea returns

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is a doubt for Sunday's (16 April) Premier League visit of champions-elect Chelsea after being ruled out of the Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht. The record England goalscorer has been nursing an ankle injury and has not travelled to Belgium for the first leg later today (13 April).

Goalkeeper David de Gea missed last weekend's win over Sunderland with a hip problem, while Ashley Young has a groin injury. All three players have trained ahead of the club's latest European outing but will not be considered from the start. However, the greatest concern is over Rooney, who did not consider himself fit enough for selection.

Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Juan Mata remain out and were the only players not to train in Manchester prior to travelling to Belgium. Sergio Romero will start in goal, with de Gea expected to be named on the United bench.

"He's not happy with his condition," Mourinho said of Rooney, according to United's official website. "He's trying to work with the team, when he does he's not confident, he's not happy, he has bad feelings with his ankle and trained today. Let's see for the weekend or for the next. We need everyone with minimum condition to play, to try to be available."

The Portuguese coach added: "De Gea's injury is not serious and Romero, every time he plays, he plays so well. The fans are used to having Romero in goal in the competition [the Europa League] – that becomes the most important competition for us after winning the League Cup.

"The Europa League is the competition we can still win, so when Sergio plays in the Europa League and when we are giving him this confidence to play, it's because we know that his answer is positive and today he looked like he was really comfortable."

The absence of de Gea comes amid intense speculation regarding his future, which has seen him linked with a return to Spain with Real Madrid. The 11-time European champions are reportedly considering de Gea or Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois to replace Keylor Navas for next season, but Mourinho has batted away suggestions the rumours are unsettling United's number one.

"I'm not interested in the speculation and if the player is, he shouldn't be," Mourinho insisted. "At the end of the season players think about what will happen next in their careers. Every match is one that demands total focus for us. I don't see de Gea with any problem related to this."