Sir Alex Ferguson says he doesn’t expect Rio Ferdinand to pull on a Manchester United (2/1 Premier League winners) shirt before the end of September as the England skipper struggles to overcome a knee injury.
The 31-year-old picked up the problem while on international duty with the Three Lions at the World Cup.
The injury ruled the former West Ham and Leeds centre-half out of the entire tournament, just weeks after he had returned to full fitness after a domestic season plagued by injury.
Ferdinand made just 21 appearances for United in all competitions last season as he was dogged by a persistent back problem.
Ferdinand’s injuries compounded a difficult season for Ferguson as he lost a number of his top defenders to injury, being forced to play the likes of Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in his back four at times.
The centre-back was expected to be fit for the start of the new season but his return date has now been put back until the end of September as he struggles to get fit.
Ferguson says he isn’t worried about the amount of time Ferdinand has spent on the sidelines and believes his recovery is on course.
“We are still thinking the end of September for Rio,” said the United boss.
“It was a medial ligament problem rather than a cruciate, so the recovery time is exactly what we thought.
“It was a freak. It is nothing to do with his back. We just had to treat it the proper way. These things are never easy.”
The latest update on Ferdinand’s fitness means he will miss England’s first two Euro 2012 qualifiers in September as Fabio Capello’s men face Bulgaria (8/1 to win Group G) and Switzerland (5/1).
The injury also means that United will be without their defensive stalwart for the big game against Liverpool on September 19.
While United fans remain concerned about Ferdinand’s fitness Ferguson has moved to ease their fears over a number of other players, including midfielder Anderson.
The Brazilian has returned to training this week after a knee injury and the United boss hopes he could be back in first team contention after September’s international break.
Left-back Patrice Evra has also been given a clean bill ahead of Sunday’s game with Fulham (4/1 to beat United), the France international having fully recovered from a nasty collision with the advertising hoardings during Monday’s 3-0 win over Newcastle.
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