Injured Wayne Rooney a major doubt for Champions League final

Wayne Rooney is suffering a hernia and faces a major battle to be fit for the Champions League Final.

Mirror Sport can reveal that Rooney does not have a recurrence of a hip injury picked up in United's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea last weekend, but a more serious problem which could see him miss out on Moscow.

Rooney left the pitch at Stamford Bridge on Saturday clutching his groin, and United claimed that he had merely aggravated an existing hip injury and was taken off as a precaution.

But the revelation that Rooney's problem is a hernia has cast serious doubt over his participation in the first all-English European Cup Final against Chelsea in the Russian capital on May 21. Most hernias require immediate surgery, but with the final just 18 days away United cannot afford to let Rooney, who trained through the pain barrier yesterday, go under the knife.

United have decided to delay an operation to see if Rooney can make it to Moscow following a combination of rest and painkillers.

A United insider told Mirror Sport yesterday: "Wayne is desperate to play in the final and the club are doing all they can to make sure he is fit. An operation has not been discussed because the recovery time would put a major doubt over whether he could play."

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson added: "We have a final of major importance coming up and want to make sure that Wayne is available for that."