Man Utd sweat on Van Persie injury and daunting Euro draw
David Moyes likely to be without striker this weekend, but will he be fit for Manchester derby?
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Man United have been drawn against defending champions Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The first leg takes place at Old Trafford on 1 April.
FRIDAY promises to be a day of revelation for Manchester United with the club bracing themselves for news on two fronts. First the reigning Premier League champions will learn the extent of Robin van Persie's knee injury that saw him stretchered off in the closing minutes of Wednesday's stunning comeback against Olympiakos.
According to The Guardian United are "waiting anxiously" to discover the results of scans on the Dutchman's left knee after his collision with Olympiakos centre-back Kostas Manolas.
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United manager David Moyes has reportedly resigned himself to being without Van Persie (who scored all United's goals in their 3-0 win over Olympiakos) against West Ham on Saturday, but he is hopeful his leading goal-scorer this season will be fit for the Manchester Derby on Tuesday evening.
While United fans will be crossing their fingers for Van Persie this morning they'll also be saying a few prayers as 11am approaches – the time that the draw for the Champions League final is made. Bookmakers have installed United as the tournament underdogs following their 3-2 aggregate win over Olympiakos in the last 16 with Barcelona favourites to lift the crown they last won in 2011. This year's final is at Benfica's Estadio da Luz stadium in Lisbon on 24 May.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea complete the imposing quarter-final line-up with the first leg to be played on 1 or 2 April and the second leg the following week.
The draw, which will be at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, is open which means the Spanish clubs could play each other while United might have to face Chelsea.
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The draw for the last eight of the Europa League will be made after the Champions League proceedings but it will feature no British clubs after England's last representative, Tottenham, failed to overturn the 3-1 deficit from their leg against Benfica.
Spurs drew 2-2 on Thursday evening with the Portuguese side, who progress to the quarter-final alongside AZ Alkmaar, Basel, Lyon, Juventus, Porto, Sevilla and Valencia.