Wayne Rooney is set to make a surprise return on the bench for Manchester United at Swansea on Saturday.
The unhappy England striker was involved in a full first-team training session at Carrington this morning and boarded United’s flight to South Wales this afternoon.
If manager David Moyes goes ahead with plans to name Rooney among his substitutes, it will be the first time the 27-year-old has been involved in a United squad since Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that he wants to leave the club more than three months ago.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch Gerrard on proposed Rooney move
It would also be a significant show of strength by Moyes after United rejected two bids from Chelsea and stated categorically that Rooney will not be sold under any circumstances.
The new United boss was questioned for allowing Rooney to play for England in midweek when he was unfit to feature in either of United’s final pre-season fixtures against Swedish club AIK and Sevilla, as well as last weekend’s Community Shield.
Having lasted just one training session of United’s summer tour of Australia and the Far East before flying home with a hamstring strain, Rooney picked up a shoulder injury in a behind-closed-doors run-out against Real Betis and had only been involved in non-contact training with the reserves.
Behind the wheel: Rooney's future continues to be the subject of discussion as Chelsea remain interested
But after a 67-minute appearance against Scotland at Wembley and a full session today, Moyes has wasted no time in bringing him straight back into the first-team fold.
He is determined to stamp his authority on the situation after a difficult summer and show both Rooney and Chelsea that United will not be forced into selling a key player to one of their main title rivals when he still has two years left on his contract at Old Trafford.
In action...finally: Wayne Rooney played his first match of pre-season in England's win over Scotland
On the mic: United boss David Moyes is insistent that Rooney is not for sale
Meanwhile, Wilfried Zaha stands by for his first top slight start, while Michael Carrick should recover from the eye infection which kept him out of England's friendly.
Rooney has been out of United's pre-season action with a shoulder injury, and after watching him play for his country Moyes reiterated the Premier Leaue champions' stance on the future of their striker.
'There are no more developments and we don't want any because we've told everybody he's not for sale,' said Moyes.
'I'll need to see how he is when I get back. I'll try and assess him. I watched the game last night and I thought for the 65 minutes he played he did well, he ran around and got himself some fitness.'
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