Sir Alex Ferguson left Wayne Rooney out of the Manchester United squad for the Premier League visit of Blackburn Rovers yesterday because of a Boxing Day night out, according to the Mail on Sunday.

The United manager reportedly got wind of the evening where Rooney was joined by wife Colleen and teammates Darren Gibson and Jonny Evans and told the player that he would miss out on New Year's Eve.

Blackburn ended up causing an upset at Old Trafford by stealing a 3-2 win.

United's website contradicted the reports by quoting Ferguson as saying: "Wayne hasn't trained well this week, he's missed a few days and we're hoping that he trains today, tomorrow and, by Wednesday, he should be okay. It's little strains here and there."

Rooney is likely to return to the Reds' lineup when they look to bounce back from the Blackburn defeat on Wednesday in Newcastle.