Edwin - We can cope without Rooney

Edwin van der Sar is confident Manchester United will be able to cope if Wayne Rooney is ruled out of their upcoming key games.

Rooney suffered an ankle injury during the latter stages of United's 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and he is due to be assessed on Wednesday.

He is already rated a major doubt for Saturday's Premier League title showdown with Chelsea and next week's return against Bayern, and there are fears he could be sidelined for anything up to six weeks.

However, after winning at Wolves and Bolton Wanderers this month without Rooney, goalkeeper Van der Sar is backing United to manage in their leading scorer's absence.

"Against Bolton we also played with some other players," said Van der Sar. "It can happen in the season.

"You always want your best players available, but we know the players coming in can also do a good job."

Meanwhile, United duo Nemanja Vidic and Park Ji-sung remain optimistic that the 2008 winners can reach the semi-finals of the Champions League by beating Bayern at Old Trafford.

Vidic told Sky Sports News: "It's one of the worst we have played I think this year, but I believe we can play at home and we need to win.

"Of course, to lose a goal in the last minute is definitely disappointing and 2-1 is not a great result, but we're at home and we can go through."

Park added: "We are disappointed because we were leading.

"The early goal was good for us, but we weren't able to build on it and get the result. But we have our chance to go through at Old Trafford.

"Bayern have an experienced team, and the club has a proud history.

"They did well, but the situation will be different at Old Trafford. We're waiting for them to come there."