Manchester United vs Norwich City: Wayne Rooney one of key trio in contention for injury return

Wayne Rooney is in contention for Manchester United's Premier League clash against Norwich City on 19 December after Louis van Gaal confirmed that his captain has completed a full week's training following an ankle problem.

The out-of-form England striker sustained the injury during a 1-1 draw with leaders Leicester City last month and was subsequently ruled out of top-flight fixtures against West Ham United and Bournemouth as well as the defeat to Wolfsburg that denied the club a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

United have been besieged by fitness problems of late, and a combination of a busy treatment room and a frustrating lack of attacking guile have contributed to a difficult run of just one win from their last six matches in all competitions.

Van Gaal is likely to be further boosted for the visit of Alex Neil's struggling side, with Ander Herrera and Chris Smalling also back in training after recovering from hamstring and groin problems respectively. The status of Ashley Young, who has been an unused substitute in recent weeks despite the absence of several key players, appears uncertain.

"There are more or less three players who trained this week, for a full week, so that's not bad," the manager told MUTV before his weekly pre-match press conference. "The players who have trained this week are Rooney, Herrera and Smalling. Young is also coming back I think, but we have to wait and see.

"The last match [Young] had a slight problem, he was feeling something and we cannot take the risk. We have investigated that this week. He shall train today, so we shall have to wait and see if he is available."

While Rooney, Herrera and Smalling could all return at Old Trafford, Bastian Schweinsteiger will definitely miss out as he serves the second game of his three-match ban handed down by the FA for his elbow on West Ham defender Winston Reid. Joining the German midfielder on the sidelines will be Jesse Lingard and Matteo Darmian, neither of whom are in a position to feature due to hamstring concerns. Long-term absentees Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia remain out, as does Marcos Rojo after undergoing surgery on a dislocated shoulder.

"Lingard is out of the question, and Darmian is out of the question," Van Gaal added. "These are the players who are available and then we have to decide if they can play or not because some players like Herrera are already three or four weeks out of office."