Duo sit out Lisbon trip

Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville have failed to recover from injury in time for Wednesday's Champions League opener against Sporting Lisbon.

The England internationals, both sidelined with thigh strains, were missing from United's travelling party as it left Manchester Airport on Tuesday morning.

Wayne Rooney, however, was on board, having made a startling recovery from the broken foot he sustained on the opening day of the season.

The England striker is likely to play some part against Sporting, although with Sunday's clash with Chelsea looming large, Sir Alex Ferguson may use him sparingly.

Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Ji-sung Park and Ben Foster are United's other senior absentees.