Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney will not play for Manchester United against Blackburn on Sunday.

Rooney started against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, after Ferguson had insisted the day before that his striker would not be available, but was substituted after in the 55th minute of the 3-2 win, which was nor enough to prevent United going out of the Champions League on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw.

Ferguson has insisted Rooney did not suffer any long-term damage when he aggravated his ankle injury during that game, but nevertheless feels that this weekend's game comes too soon. Rooney could still return for the derby against Manchester City on 17 April.

"Five wins will give us a chance [of winning the title]," said Ferguson when asked about United's title prospects. "Five wins for Chelsea wins them it. That is the difficulty."