Rooney fate announced on Thursday

The Football Association will confirm whether Wayne Rooney will be free to face Manchester City in this month's FA Cup semi-final at 10am on Thursday morning.

Rooney is challenging his two-match ban for using offensive, insulting and/or abusive language at West Ham on Saturday, believing it to be too excessive for the crime he committed.

As it presently stands, the Manchester United forward will miss Saturday's Premier League encounter with Fulham and that eagerly-anticipated clash with City at Wembley on April 16.

A conclusion will be reached on Wednesday and relayed to the Old Trafford club.

However, the FA are sympathetic about the timing of any public release, which would come just a couple of hours before United tackle Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

And, after consultation between both parties, it has been agreed the official media announcement will not be made until the morning, by which time United, and Rooney, will be back in Manchester.

Rooney, whom it has been revealed did not have his lucrative sponsorship contract with Coca-Cola renewed last year, is risking his ban being increased. However, United are convinced the suspension should be cut by a three-man disciplinary panel and have the support of the Professional Footballers' Association.

"If he is unsuccessful in his appeal the commission could look on the case as not being truly exceptional," said PFA deputy chief executive John Bramhall.

"But from my experience, the circumstances surrounding his case are unprecedented and therefore you would say it was truly exceptional."