LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United striker Federico Macheda joined Championship club Doncaster Rovers on a one-month loan on Monday.

Macheda watched Doncaster's draw against Huddersfield from the directors' box on Saturday and reported for training with Paul Dickov's team after sealing the switch.

The 22-year-old Italian is expected to go straight into Doncaster's squad for the league fixture at Watford on Tuesday.

Macheda, in the final year of his contract at United, has failed to live up to his early promise since bursting on to the scene aged 17 with a last-minute goal to clinch a crucial 3-2 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford in April 2009.

Loan spells with QPR, Sampdoria and Stuttgart, where he spent the last five months of last season, have followed but Macheda failed to score a goal at any of the three clubs.

Macheda's last appearance for United came in December in a Champions League defeat to FC Cluj where he came on as a second-half substitute.

He has scored just five goals in 36 appearances for United.