LONDON — Premier League leader Manchester United will be without defender Jonny Evans and midfielder Anderson for three weeks with ankle injuries, manager Sir Alex Ferguson said Friday.
Both were hurt Tuesday as the Red Devils beat Derby to reach the Carling Cup final.
"We sent Anderson for a scan and there's no break, but there was some ligament damage," Ferguson said. "We think he'll be out for three weeks."
Portugal winger Nani has been ruled out for a week with a groin injury after limping out of the semifinal.
Also missing for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round match with Tottenham are defenders Rio Ferdinand, Rafael da Silva, Patrice Evra and Wes Brown, along with midfielder Park Ji-sung and striker Wayne Rooney.
"We still have Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo fit," Ferguson said. "But we will have to call on some young players.
"I could play (midfielder) Darren Fletcher at right ack, with Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea, which would give me an experienced back four, but I've called in Richard Eckersley and Fabio (da Silva), who could be involved."
Ferguson expects Ferdinand and Brown to be fit to face Everton on Feb. 2 to help the league title defence.
"It's not the best position to be in. January is a difficult month," Ferguson said. "We've talked a lot about having a winter break to get rid of the strains you pick up in January, but it's not to be.
"The result is that the strains become injuries and the players miss games."
No comments:
Post a Comment