Wayne Rooney and Rafael on course for Manchester derby return

Wayne Rooney and Rafael will be fit in time for Monday's Manchester derby.

Manchester United star Rooney returned from international duty with a groin injury.

And Rafael suffered a similar problem during Saturday’s win at Sunderland.

United boss Alex Ferguson said: "Wayne and Rafael started training this morning, which is good news. They should be fine by Monday."

Ferguson is also hopeful skipper Nemanja Vidic and Jonny Evans will have recovered from back and hamstring injuries respectively.

He added: "They are not there yet, but we have time on our hands to get them right."

United go into the game 15 points clear of their neighbours and victory would see them even closer to their 20th league title.

It is a far cry from 12 months ago when a Vincent Kompany goal gave City the victory they needed to overtake United at the top of the table.