Rooney raring to go as Man United step up preparations to wrestle title back from City

Wayne Rooney was all smiles as he gets back into the swing of things with Manchester United.

 The England striker missed their pre-season trip to South Africa and the Far East after being given extra time off after Euro 2012.

 But he is now raring to go as the squad were put through their paces at Carrington on Friday morning.

 In just over two weeks, United start their Barclays Premier League campaign away to Rooney's former club Everton on Monday night.

 Between now and then, boss Sir Alex Ferguson will hope to have Rooney in top shape as they launch their bid to wrestle the title back from arch rivals Manchester City United travel to Norway to take on Valerenga on Sunday before a friendly match against European heavyweights Barcelona three days later in Gothernburg.

 They then have a final warm-up against Hannover in Germany before returning for a week of preparations in Manchester ahead of their opening fixture.

 Rooney is one of several players who are now back in full training after Euro 2012, while David De Gea is back earlier than expected following Spain's shock exit from the group stages of the Olympic football tournament.

 Ferguson is still keen to bring in one or two new faces, with Brazilian forward Lucas Moura high on his list of priorities.

 Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell are the first two new arrivals at Old Trafford this summer.

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