Manchester United injury news: Star striker Wayne Rooney fit to face Southampton

Manchester United have been handed a massive boost as their striker Wayne Rooney is expected to be fit for the Southampton clash, according to the Telegraph.

The England international picked up a knee injury after crashing into an advertising board during United's 3-0 victory over Hull City last week. This saw him sit out as United sealed a 2-1 win over Stoke City at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

After the Stoke win, United manager Louis van Gaal confirmed that Rooney would undergo a scan on Wednesday to know the extent of the injury. It is now believed that the Red Devils skipper has been declared fit for their upcoming league clash after scan results suggested that there are no serious concerns.

The 20-time English champions make a trip to St Mary's Stadium as they face Southampton, who have suffered defeats in the last two matches against Manchester City and Arsenal.

In Rooney's absence, the Dutchman started Robin van Persie and James Wilson against Stoke, while the latter was replaced by Radamel Falcao in the second half.

The 29-year-old has now declared himself fit to face the Saints and could start for United on Monday evening. United have won the last four matches and are fourth in the league table with 25 points from 14 games and are one point behind third place Southampton.

United are still without the services of defenders Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw. Summer signings Daley Blind and Angel Di Maria are also out of action. Van Gaal revealed that the former Real Madrid star will miss the upcoming clash against Southampton.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager also gave a positive update on his compatriot Blind. He hopes the Dutch international could return to action at the end of this year.

"Di Maria is not so heavy, but of course he shall not play against Southampton but you never know," Van Gaal said.

"It is not so heavy but what is not so heavy in his [Blind] injury, it is not heavy but the injury is not next week. Christmas maybe. I think that at the end of December maybe we see light in the tunnel," the Dutchman concluded.