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LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Manchester United will be without midfielder Owen Hargreaves for Wednesday's Champions League opener against Sporting Lisbon.
Hargreaves, along with defender Gary Neville, have both failed to recover from thigh strains and did not travel to Portugal on Tuesday, the club's Web site said.
England striker Wayne Rooney is in the squad, however, after recovering from a broken foot sustained on the opening day of the season.
"I've been dying to play," Rooney told the Web site. "I wanted to make sure the manager knew I was ready to come back.
"The manager and physios have been a bit cautious and rightly so -- it's a long season. Hopefully, I can get a run-out on Wednesday and get back playing.
"I feel I could have played a few weeks ago and I'm a bit disappointed I haven't. But it was probably best in the long run."
Mikael Silvestre, out for the season with a serious knee injury, Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea, Park Ji-sung and Ben Foster are also on United's injured list.
