Chicharito' Hernandez to return to Manchester United training Wednesday

Posted Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

This story was updated at 7:00pm EDT to reflect the news that Hernandez will return to training Wednesday.

It's one thing that Ashley Cole did not receive a red card or that Manchester United was not awarded a penalty for the Chelsea fullback's two-footed tackle against Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez inside the box in Sunday's match.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson's worries about losing his star striker for another stretch were allayed when tests revealed no fracture in Chicharito's right leg.

Cole made the challenge that forced Chicharito to leave United's 3-1 victory as the Mexican striker 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 affect the Red Devils going forward.

Manchester United could have been without Chicharito for the next few games, which would have been 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”.

After further tests, though, the Manchester United medical staff ran tests and determined that the leg was not fractured.

"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, meaning Chicharito's availability could help him from having to make some tricky roster decisions.