Sport Football Robin van Persie Robin van Persie hopeful of making Manchester derby after k Robin van Persie Robin van Persie hopeful of making Manchester derby after knee injury

Robin van Persie hopeful of making Manchester derby after knee injury

United striker carried off after scoring hat-trick

 Dutch coach says 'his upper leg is very stiff'

 Robin van Persie writhes in pain after being injured during the Champions League tie against Olympiakos.

Patrick Kluivert, the Holland assistant coach, is confident that Robin van Persie's injury is not serious enough to keep him out of the Manchester derby on Tuesday.

The striker, who is suffering from a "stiff leg", will not recover in time for the weekend trip to West Ham United but is hopeful of making Old Trafford next week.
David Moyes confirmed Van Persie would miss the trip to West Ham, adding: "We're getting Robin rescanned today. We're not quite conclusive on everything we've seen."

Kluivert had been in contact with the Dutchman's camp on Thursday and they were optimistic that Van Persie, who took a knee in the back of his leg in the 3-0 Champions League victory over Olympiakos on Wednesday, could recover quickly.


Kluivert, who is Louis van Gaal's No2 with Holland, said: "Robin went on Thursday morning directly to the hospital and his upper leg was very stiff. We now have to wait but we have good hope. Maybe he can play the Manchester derby."
As expected, City's Sergio Agüero is ruled out of the derby with hamstring injury.
Van Persie's hat-trick ensured the Greek champions' 2-0 lead from the last-16 first leg in Athens was overturned to put United in the quarter-final draw.
The Dutchman suffered the problem when he was hit from behind in the last minute by the centre-back, Kostas Manolas, and collapsed on the turf clutching the back of his left knee.
Van Persie had to be taken off on a stretcher but Moyes downplayed the problem, stating the forward had taken a knee in the back of his leg.
Given Van Persie's three goals took him to 14 in 23 United outings to make him the club's top scorer during the current campaign, Moyes will not want to lose his services.
After a virtually injury-free season last year, Van Persie has again been cursed by setbacks this season as he was for most of his Arsenal career.
On United's summer tour Van Persie suffered a muscle injury in Japan, issues with his toes and groin once the season started, and a problem in mid-December that put him on the sidelines for six weeks.