Manchester United central defender Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out for a further six weeks as the 31 year old continues his recovery from the knee ligament injury that kept him out of England’s World Cup campaign .
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Rio should be six weeks, I think. It was a ligament injury after all.”
Ferdinand was set to return for United’s opening game with Newcastle, but the England captain will now miss the first month of the new Premier League season. It’s a blow to both United and Rio himself. However Sir Alex has the option of calling on quality replacements. Jonny Evans played over half of United’s games last season and is a more than an able replacement. John O’shea, Wes Brown and 20 year old new signing Chris Smalling are also available to play if called upon.
On the positive front, Gary Neville is expected to be fit for the season opener against Newcastle, but Michael Owen is losing his battle to be fit and is a major doubt. Midfielder Anderson is due to return in late September from the cruciate ligament injury he suffered in February , whilst Owen Hargreaves is in the USA continuing his knee rehabilitation.
