Rooney ready to fight against Newcastle at Wednesday, January 4, 2012

It is believed Rooney and midfielder Darron Gibson both missed the New Year's Eve defeat to Blackburn after angering their manager by their performance in training after a St Stephen’s Day night out.
Chris Smalling (tonsillitis) and Rio Ferdinand (back) may return on Tyneside to bolster United's injury-ravaged squad as they look to keep pace with leaders Manchester City.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Rafael, Ferdinand, Smalling, Evra, Jones, Fryers, Cole, Carrick, Valencia, Park, Gibson, Anderson, Nani, Giggs, Rooney, Welbeck, Berbatov, Hernandez, Diouf, Keane.
(Wayne Rooney expected to return for United)

Gibson and Evans were also disciplined by Ferguson, but with sources close to Rooney and United insisting that the incident has not caused a rift between player and manager, Ferguson has admitted that the 26 year-old will be considered for the Premier League clash at St James’ Park.
But speaking to SiriusXM’s The Football Show, a New York radio broadcast, Ferguson suggested his decision to omit Rooney and Gibson against Blackburn - Evans was already sidelined with a calf strain - was due to his displeasure at the players’ physical condition.
“Wayne Rooney will be available [at Newcastle] of course,” Ferguson said. “We had a few training sessions he missed, but you’ve got to be fit to play in this league. You can’t miss training sessions.”
(Sir Alex Ferguson to welcome Wayne Rooney back into Manchester United's first XI for Newcastle match)

United's coaching staff considered him "lethargic" and worse for wear and Ferguson decided disciplinary action was necessary after discovering the England striker had been on a Boxing Day night out with his team-mates Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans. "You've got to be fit to play in the Premier League," Ferguson explained in an interview with Sirius XM. "You can't miss training sessions."
Ferguson has also made Rooney train on a scheduled day off and, behind the scenes, he has made it clear in no uncertain terms what he makes of the player's attitude. He went on to raise the possibility that Rooney might not be in good physical condition – "We had a few training sessions [over the Christmas period] he missed" – but was unwilling to elaborate other than to say the forward would "of course" be included for Newcastle.
The United manager said Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs would both have late fitness tests to see if they could play but the champions are still badly affected by injury and illness problems.
(Manchester United's Wayne Rooney available to face Newcastle, by Daniel Taylor, guardian.co.uk)