Wayne Rooney is hopeful of being fit for Sunday’s Manchester derby following an injury scare on Monday when he was seen limping at a sponsors’ promotional event at Old Trafford.

The Manchester United captain is available after a three-match suspension and while the club have remained tight-lipped regarding the precise nature of Rooney’s fitness or otherwise, Louis van Gaal is preparing for the game with him in mind. If the 29-year-old is fit he is expected to go straight back into the starting XI as the manager has stated that as his captain Rooney has “special privileges” regarding always being selected.

Rooney’s availability would provide Van Gaal with a sizeable boost as the forward is the record scorer in Manchester derbies, with 11 goals. In his absence United have been unbeaten, winning once and drawing twice, the last of them Sunday’s home game with Chelsea when Robin van Persie equalised in injury time to give United a psychological fillip before the trip to the Etihad Stadium.

City are enduring patchy form. Last week Manuel Pellegrini’s team allowed a two-goal half-time lead at CSKA Moscow to slip and the Russians drew 2-2 in a Champions League group game. City then lost 2-1 at West Ham United on Saturday, so United will be hopeful of going to the home of the champions and putting in a good performance, especially if Rooney is the lineup.

While Pellegrini admits to doing extra work to try to tighten up City’s defence, the manager claimed he would not make any special plans for Rooney, despite his prolific record against them.

“We really don’t change our way to play for some player or other player. If it’s not Wayne Rooney it will be Ángel di María, Juan Mata or Robin van Persie,” he said. “They have so many creative players that they have a lot of different chances [to score]. We cannot prepare for a game talking about one player because after it can happen that he doesn’t play and we have to change all of what we do. We really try to have a style of play every game. I am sure Wayne Rooney is one of the important players of Manchester United but, I repeat, also other players are very difficult for us.”

In Rooney’s absence, James Wilson has managed two league appearances as a replacement, the second of which came on Sunday when he came on for Juan Mata after 67 minutes.

Previously he replaced Radamel Falcao in the 2-1 win over Everton at the start of the month. Of having to compete with Falcao, Van Persie and Rooney, the 18-year-old said: “It’s great to be in contention with such names in the world of football as theirs. Obviously, with the competition in training and even in the games as well, if I can just get a few minutes here and there then hopefully I can get my chance further down the line.”