Van der Sar: United can cope without Rooney

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar insists Manchester United can win without Wayne Rooney.

Rooney has largely been viewed as indispensable to the Red Devils this season with some claiming that United are a one-man team.

As they approach the biggest two matches of their campaign so far against Chelsea in the Premier League and the return leg of the Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich, United are set to miss the 24-year-old.

But Van der Sar insists they can cope, saying: "You always want your best players available but we know the players coming in can also do a good job."

In the short-term, Ferguson is expected to use Dimitar Berbatov at the head of his strike-force, as he did at Bolton and Wolves a couple of weeks earlier, and retain the same formation that has proved so successful this season.

Should Rooney's injury stretch on into an absence of weeks, with Michael Owen and Danny Welbeck already out with calf and knee injuries, Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf, neither of whom have been tested at the highest level and did not even make the bench last night, are United's only striking alternatives.

Ferguson does have the option of deploying Ryan Giggs in a more advanced role, whilst Nani, Park Ji-sung and Antonio Valencia have good attacking instincts.