'Chicharito' Hernandez to return to Manchester United training Wednesday

The Mexican striker could have been out up to two weeks after having his right leg injured in a tackle by Ashley Cole, but his agent said he will return to training Wednesday.

Javier Hernandez Chicharito

 

UPDATED 7 p.m. ET

A day after Manchester United's talented striker Javier Hernandez was taken out of Sunday's game against Chelsea with a leg injury, Sir Alex Ferguson can finally relax.

Tests revealed no fracture in Chicharito's right leg and the player could return to training as soon as Wednesday.

 Chelsea fullback Ashley Cole made the challenge that forced Chicharito to leave United's 3-1 victory as the Mexican pounced on the rebound of a Wayne Rooney effort which struck the post, catching him just below the knee. Referee Phil Dowd decided against awarding a penalty as he deemed the ball had left the field of play at the point of contact.

This all happened in the 79th minute of a game that was already in Manchester United’s control, but the controversial play could have affected the Red Devils going forward.  

Ferguson, Manchester United's manager, originally thought Chicharito would miss a couple of weeks, which would have marked the second stretch this season that the club’s starting lineup will be missing the superstar. The 23-year-old was absent early on this campaign after suffering a concussion during training while the team was touring the United States in July.

After Sunday’s game, Sir Alex said Chicharito’s right leg was “very numb” and “there’s very little feeling”. But the medical staff evaluated the injury on Monday and didn't find any broken bones.

"Nothing, it's just a bump, nothing more," said Chicharito's agent, Eduardo Hernandez. "It looked like (his absence) was longer, they were looking for a fracture, that's why they ran those tests on him. I expect him to be training without incident on Wednesday."

The news will come as a relief to Ferguson, who was already short on strikers. While Danny Welbeck filled in nicely as a starter during the first three games along with the Community Shield, the 21-year-old backup is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered during United’s 8-2 victory over Arsenal earlier this month.

Sir Alex recently said Welbeck is making good progress and that the injury isn’t as bad as the team initially thought, but it is unknown if he will be back for this weekend’s match against Stoke. Chicharito's availability could help him from having to make some tricky roster decisions.

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