Wayne Rooney has been tipped to make a shock return for Manchester United ahead of Wednesday's crucial Champions League match against Bayern Munich.

The striker was expected to be out for at least two to three weeks after he injured ankle ligaments in last week's first leg in Germany, which United lost 2-1. However, according to reports last night, Rooney has responded well to treatment and could be in line for a surprise recall to Sir Alex Ferguson's squad if he comes through a training session today.

Rooney has been wearing a protective boot on his injured leg since hobbling off at the end of last week's defeat in Munich. Ferguson will not risk the England forward if there is a chance of aggravating the injury further and last night United's medical staff attempted to play down the chances of a comeback by only rating his chances of playing as "40%".

Rooney's return would be a boost for a United side that lost 2-1 to Chelsea in the Premier League without him on Saturday. They now trail Carlo Ancelotti's side by two points with five games left to play.