26/10/2008
Manchester United are preparing to send Owen Hargreaves to
see a specialist regarding his persistent knee injury. The midfielder missed
United's pre-season tour of South Africa as a result of the problem and has
been restricted to just senior appearances since. His last outing came during
the Red Devils' 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 21st September.
He has been able to take part in some running work since then, but remains
some way off a return to action. "We are managing the situation as best
we can," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "It is not an easy
one because there is no doubt he is having some pain. "But he is getting
better. We will give it another week and then probably send him back to the
specialist in Leicester."
22/09/2008
Edwin van der Sar should be fit to face Bolton Wanderers on
Saturday, despite needing to be substituted at Stamford Bridge in the first
half. The Dutchman, who was injured in a collision with Chelsea forward Florent
Malouda in Sunday’s 1-1 draw, played on briefly before signalling to
the bench that he could no longer continue. “He got some studs in the
kneecap and there was a bit of swelling there,” Sir Alex told MUTV after
the final whistle. “Hopefully he’ll be okay for next week.”
Van der Sar isn’t the only Reds goalkeeper who’ll
be visiting the treatment room at Carrington this week. Ben Foster fell awkwardly
on his ankle playing for United’s Reserves last Thursday and is expected
to be out of action for up to two months. “Ben’s not had any luck,”
Sir Alex told media last Friday. “He’s been blighted by injuries
so far in his career. “He’s a top goalkeeper and I just hope he
gets a little break now.” Tomasz Kuszczak, who replaced van der Sar at
Chelsea, will almost certainly don United’s goalkeeper jersey on Tuesday
night when Middlesbrough arrive at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup.
Manchester United's Ben Foster has been ruled out for up to
two months. The England goalkeeper was on the bench for the midweek Champions
League clash with Villarreal and finally looked set to push Edwin van der
Sar for his number one jersey. But the injury plagued keeper - who missed
most of last season with a cruciate ligament problem, has suffered a fresh
setback. He has now suffered a seriously twisted ankle whilst playing for
United's second string against Blackburn - which forced him off after an hour.
Anderson will return to Manchester United in time to face
Portsmouth on Monday but the Brazilian is still a doubtful starter at Fratton
Park. Although United are desperately short of midfield options, Sir Alex
Ferguson does not think it would be the wisest move to bring Anderson back
so quickly after flying back from Olympic duty in China. Owen Hargreaves and
Park Ji-sung trained with United's first team squad at their Carrington HQ
on Friday morning but only Hargreaves has even the remotest chance of being
involved against Pompey, with the Super Cup tie with Zenit St Petersburg next
Friday a more likely comeback date after having injections to combat a tendinitis
problem. The sight of Cristiano Ronaldo on the training ground would have
gladdened the hearts of United followers, although the Portugal international
will not be back in action until October following an ankle operation.
Carlos Tevez has returned after a family bereavement kept
him out of the opening day draw with Newcastle, while Nemanja Vidic is expected
to be fit despite not training this morning. Nani completes a three-game ban.
Wayne Rooney is set to miss the start of the season after
picking up a virus in Nigeria. Manchester United toured
Africa last month and won the Vodacom Challenge before taking on Portsmouth
in a friendly. It has now emerged that Rooney is suffering from a virus and
will not be fit to line up for United in the Community Shield against Portsmouth
on Sunday. The England man is also likely to sit out
the Premier League opener against Newcastle the following week.
Rio Ferdinand is confident that he will be fit for the start
of the new season and the opener against Newcastle. Wayne Rooney missed the
Portsmouth game in Nigeria with a dead leg but should be okay for United next
game. Ji Sung Park is currently recovering from knee surgery and is making
good progress.
Sir Alex Ferguson admits that he has some tough decisions
to make ahead of the UEFA Champions League final. The Manchester United boss
has the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from heading into a Moscow showdown
with Chelsea on 21st May, live on Sky Sports 1. Ferguson accepts that some
of his players are going to be left disappointed, but knows that having everyone
available increases the Red Devils' chances of claiming a domestic and European
double. "I'm travelling to Moscow with 26 fit players, that's unheard
of in my time," he tols Sky Sports News. "But it gives us an incredible
chance. "It makes it difficult for me. I think picking the team will
be easier than picking the substitutes. "I'm going to have to leave some
fantastic players out of the squad completely next week, which I won't enjoy
doing, but something has to be done."
Having already wrapped up a tenth Premier League
title, Ferguson admits that it is time the club began exerting the same kind
of dominance in continental competition. "When you see that Real Madrid
have got nine (Champions League) trophies, AC Milan I think have seven or
eight, Liverpool have five, Bayern Munich and Ajax four apiece, that's the
kind of record we should really have," he said. "I think that's
the one thing which should drive us all on."
Manchester United have been boosted by the news that Wayne
Rooney will be fit for their UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea.
The England international has not featured for The Red Devils since equalising
against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last month. Rooney hobbled out of the 2-1
defeat at Stamford Bridge with a hip injury, but it appears as though he has
won his race to be fit for the Champions League final in Moscow. United boss
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Rooney remains doubtful to start this weekend's
short trip to Wigan, although he remains confident the 22-year-old will be
fit on 21st May.
Meanwhile Ferguson has delivered better news on the fitness
of Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic, who, like Rooney, left the defeat early
against Chelsea. Vidic suffered concussion as well as a nasty cut to his lip
after being caught by Didier Drogba and the United tactician is hopeful he
can play against The Latics after being given the all-clear. "We are
very hopeful of Nemanja being fit," he added. "He is clear medically,
so the next two training sessions will be very important. "But he is
much better and hopefully I can get him right for Sunday."
Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney were both in the wars again
this weekend, as United lost the battle at Stamford Bridge. Serbian centre-back
Vidic, who missed the midweek match in Barcelona, saw just eight minutes of
action against Chelsea. The defender came off worse in a duel with Didier
Drogba and was treated by physio Rob Swire before leaving the field on a stretcher.
“He (Vidic) got kneed in the face by Drogba - and
no foul was given," Sir Alex told MUTV. "He’s
got a few stitches under his lip and he’s lost a tooth. He was dazed
rather than concussed but if we’d waited for him to come round we would
have played 10 or 15 minutes (with ten men) and you can’t afford that
in such a big game. So we took him off." Owen Hargreaves
came on at right-back and Wes Brown replaced Vidic as Rio Ferdinand's partner
in the centre. The reorganised rearguard kept Chelsea at bay until Michael
Ballack scored in first-half injury time - and for a similar duration in the
second period until the same opponent netted his controversial penalty.
Rooney was withdrawn in the second half, moments after scoring
United's equaliser. “Wayne got the same knock as
he got last week, straight on the hip bone," said Sir Alex. "It
takes a while for that to clear because when you get a bang on it, it’s
very painful. I’m hopeful he will be alright for Tuesday's match against
Barcelona. "Other than that, I think everyone’s
okay."
Manchester United captain Gary Neville was delighted to have
made his first appearance of the season as he came on as a second-half substitute
against Roma. Neville played the last ten-minutes of the UEFA Champions League
quarter-final second leg win, as he helped United play out the 1-0 win, which
came courtesy of a Carlos Tevez header. Neville had not played a first-team
match for 13 months after damaging his ankle against Bolton and then suffering
numerous set-backs in training.
Meanwhile Nemanja Vidic continues to receive treatment for
his knee injury and hopes to be back for the Champions League semi-final against
Barcelona.
Manchester United captain Gary Neville is eager to make his
return to first-team action after almost 12 months on the sidelines. Neville
sustained an ankle injury against Bolton last March, and has suffered a number
of setbacks during his recovery. However, the 33-year-old right-back took
a significant step in his bid to return to United's first-team after he completed
70 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday evening. It was Neville's longest
competitive outing since recovering from his injury troubles, and he firmly
believes his comeback is within touching distance.
Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster is expected to make
his comeback from injury on Thursday. Foster has not played at all this season
after damaging his cruciate knee ligaments last summer. However, he has recently
returned to training and is set to turn out for Manchester United reserves
against Middleborough at Northwich.
Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster is open to being farmed
out on loan again as he looks to regain full fitness after a serious knee
injury. The former Watford loanee damaged cruciate knee
ligaments last summer and has not played all season. However,
Foster is back in full training with The Red Devils and is pencilled in for
a reserve clash within the next few weeks. Foster has
not discussed a fresh loan with United, but does not see the harm in playing
first-team football between now and the summer.
Louis Saha is available for United's FA Cup fifth round clash
with Arsenal after coming through a week's training unscathed. The 29-year-old
striker hasn't featured for the Reds since their third round victory over
Aston Villa last month after picking up a knee injury in training. He has
started just eight games this season, but is finally ready to make his return
to action against the Gunners.
Nemanja Vidic could miss Manchester United's
game with Portsmouth on Wednesday due to a virus. The
Serbian defender sat out Sunday's FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur after
being laid low by a bug. And United manager Sir Alex
Ferguson admits Vidic may not have recovered in time for the midweek Premier
League fixture at home to Pompey.
Manchester United fitness worries received a
major boost with the news that Paul Scholes has resumed full training and
could be on the bench for Sunday's FA Cup clash with Spurs, although it is
more likely that he will make his long awaited return against Portsmouth next
Wednesday. Injury prone Louis Saha is recovering well and should resume full
training in the next two weeks.
Carlos Tevez will almost certainly miss Manchester
Uniteds trip to Villa Park for the FA Cup having suffered an ankle injury
during the teams win over Birmingham on New Years day. There is better news
however for veteran United duo Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. Neville just
lacks match fitness and could be part of the squad for trip to Villa Park.
Scholes is making a good recovery following knee surgery in October and should
be back early next month.
Edwin Van der Sar will be out for up to three
games having sustained a groin injury. There is better news however for Park
Ji_Sung who will be named in the squad for the visit to Roy Keanes Sunderland.
Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves should also be recovered from their slight
knocks which kept them out of the Everton tie.
Manchester United have been handed a major boost
by the news that Paul Scholes could be back in action by the end of January.
The influential Manchester United midfielder has been sidelined since he suffered
cartilage damage in his knee prior to the UEFA Champions League win over Dynamo
Kiev in the Ukraine two months ago. Summer signing Anderson has slotted in
well in Scholes' absence, however the 33-year-old is still a major figure
in Sir Alex Ferguson's plans for the remainder of the campaign. And, after
visiting a specialist last week, Ferguson has now been able to reveal that
the club have a more definitive comeback date for the former England international.
"The report from the specialist is very good,"
Ferguson said. "Paul will be starting straightforward
running next week and they think he will be training with us, football-wise,
in six weeks' time. " Should Scholes' comeback
go according to plan, he could be back in contention to face Tottenham Hotspur
on 2nd February.
Manchester United have been boosted by the news
that Gary Neville has no long-term damage to his ankle. The
England international has yet to play for United this season after breaking
his right ankle against Bolton in March. The right-back
was sent for surgery after complications developed, and has since suffered
several setbacks in his bid to regain fitness. However,
a specialist's examination has now shown the injury is not as serious as feared
and he has been given the all-clear to resume training. "I
think Gary will be okay," said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "We
sent him back to the specialist but the assessment is very good. "It
was more like a scar tissue problem. We will work on that and get him back
to normal training sessions next week."
Owen Hargreaves suffered a slight calf strain
in the warm-up before the 4-1 win over Derby. The Reds midfielder was named
in the starting line-up but was replaced by Michael Carrick shortly before
kick-off. Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed after the match
that he didn't want to take any chances with the 26-year-old's fitness. "Owen
had a slight strain in his calf in the warm-up," said the boss. "We
can't take chances at this time of year with the number of games we have in
December, so we withdrew him and brought Michael Carrick in." Fortunately,
the injury does not seem serious and Sir Alex will be hopeful the combative
midfielder will be available for selection against Liverpool at Anfield next
Sunday.
Manchester United captain Gary Neville has suffered
another setback in his recovery from injury. Neville has not featured for
United since breaking an ankle against Bolton at the beginning of March. It
was originally anticipated the 32-year-old would be back for last season's
FA Cup final against Chelsea. However, since that deadline Neville has suffered
calf and thigh problems to delay his comeback. With
UEFA Champions League knockout stage qualification secured, it was thought
Neville would be fit to play in United's final group game away to Roma on
Wednesday. However, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
has confirmed Neville will not fly to Rome. "Gary
has had another setback," said Ferguson. Obviously
it is disappointing. He has gone back to the specialist for him to have another
look at it but at the moment there is nothing positive on that at all. It
is not getting serious. He just keeps getting niggling injuries. "It
is a concern that he gets small setbacks every time he gets ready to play.
We need to sort it out and get him back as soon as possible."
Manchester United have received an injury boost
with the news that Park Ji-sung, Mikael Silvestre and Ben Foster are all making
good progress. Park has been out for eight months with a cruciate knee ligament
injury, but has now returned to full training and could return before the
end of the year. Silvestre sustained a similar problem in September and, while
he was initially expected to miss the whole season, is now on course for a
return early next year. Foster, meanwhile, is also out with a knee problem
and, having undergone surgery in the summer, could be back as early as Ferbruary.
Meanwhile Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is hopeful Wayne Rooney
will make his injury comeback ahead of schedule against Fulham on 3rd December.
Rooney damaged his ankle in a training ground accident a fortnight ago and
it was initially feared he was facing a month on the sidelines.
Paul Scholes will be out for up to three months
and will require an operation to repair ligament damage to the knee which
he incurred during training on the eve of the Dynamo Kiev game last week.
Meanwhile Rio Ferdinand has declared himself fit to face Arsenal at the Emirates
next week. Gary Neville has also started training again and will be eligable
for selection in the next week or two. Michael Carrick will also return within
the next couple of weeks but Ji Sung Park will be out until at least January.
Owen Hargreaves could make his return to first
team action at Villa Park this weekend. Owen has been out of action with tendonitis
since facing Sunderland at the start of September, but an injection in his
knee has been widely regarded as a success, hopefully clearing a path for
his return. Meanwhile United are still without Michael Carrick as he recovers
from a fractured elbow
Uniteds seamingly endless run of injuries got
worse following the clash with Wigan at Old Trafford. Louis Saha aggravated
a knee injury during the warm up and will face tests later today to determine
the extent of the damage. Meanwhile Nemanja Vidic was taken to hospital for
tests suffereing from concussion following a clash of heads. John O'Shea was
also substituted with a dead leg and will be out for a couple of weeks. There
was better news in relation to Darren Fletcher who resumes training next Monday.
Owen Hargreave is also only 3 or 4 weeks away from a return.
Owen Hargreaves could return to the United bench
today against Birmingham having recovered from a thigh strain picked up while
on duty for England. Meanwhile Gary Neville could be back as soon as next
week. The Reds' skipper has endured a torrid time since damaging ankle ligaments
in March. He has since picked up further minor knocks which have resulted
in him missing the opening two months of the current campaign. A reserve fixure
against Liverpool could be the ideal warm up for Neville in the coming weeks.
Mikael Silvestre will be sent for a scan on the
knee injury he picked up against Everton on Saturday. The United left-back,
who was playing his first match since the opening day of the season against
Reading, got his studs caught in the turf and fell awkwardly, twisting his
knee. Silvestre appeared to be in a lot of pain and had to be stretchered
from the field. "It's a knee injury," confirmed
the boss after the match. "We'll send him for a scan and wait to see
what comes of it." Silvestre joins Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea on
the sidelines, all of whom are expected to be out for a number of weeks at
least.
Cristiano Ronaldo returns against Everton having
completed a three match ban. Wayne Rooney is expected to take his place on
the bench having recovered from a fractured foot ahead of schedule. However
there is bad news for Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea. Both picked up knee
injuries on international duty during the week. Fletcher faces upto six weeks
on the sidelines while O'Shea will miss at least a couple of weeks.
Louis Saha and Anderson should be fit for the
visit of Roy Keane's Sunderland next week. Wayne Rooney could be back in action
sooner than expected as he is making a remarkable recovery from his fractured
foot injury and could be in line for a call up in approximately three weeks
time. Gary Neville could return in a couple of weeks having also injured his
thigh while recovering from ankle injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo must serve a further two match
ban following his sending off against Portsmouth. Gary Neville will be out
for at least another couple of weeks following a slight set back in his rehabilitation.
Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer have started light training and may be
available soon. Owen Hargreaves will miss Englands next friendly but may be
available for the Spurs game next Sunday.
Wayne Rooney will be out for upto two months
after fracturing a bone in his foot in the scoreless draw against Reading.
Carlos Tevez will now make his Utd debut against Portmouth in Fratton Park
on Wednesday night. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Louis Saha have also started
training again.
Paul Scholes hopes to be in contension for a
place in the starting line up following last nights friendly with Dunfermline.
Scholes played the full 90 minutes just two weeks after undergoing knee surgery.
Manchester United will play two friendlies this
Wednesday against Glentoran in Northern Ireland & Dunfermline in Scotland.
Sir Alex Furguson has strong ties with both clubs. His father was a former
Glentoran player while Sir Alex himself played some of his best football for
Dunfermline. Ferguson will not be in attendance at either
match as reports in the media claim he is moving house.
United coach Mike Phelan will take charge of
the dugout in Dunfermline with first team players such as Wayne Rooney, Ryan
Giggs and Owen Hargreaves expected to feature. There may even be a first chance
to see Carlos Tevez in the famous red jersey should his registration papers
be through on time.
Carlos Queiroz takes charge in Belfast against
Glentoran. Christiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Nani &
Anderson are among those who will be plying their trade in front of the huge
numbers expected to turn out in Belfast.
See
latest news link for match reports following these games.