Thursday, September 10, 2009

Man Utd hope for Ferdinand return

Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand has yet to appear in the Premier League this season

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says centre-back Rio Ferdinand is on the verge of a return to action against Tottenham on Saturday.

The 30-year-old has missed all of United's four Premier League games so far this season after tearing a thigh muscle during training last month.

"Rio's been in training this week and has a got a chance for Saturday," said Ferguson on Thursday.

"I'm not sure how big a chance but he has got a chance."

Ferdinand, who has played 311 games for United, has also missed England's 2-1 friendly win over Slovenia and Wednesday's 5-1 demolition of Croatia.

His only serious action this season has come in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the Community Shield on 9 August and in England's friendly against the Netherlands three days later.

606: DEBATE

The former West Ham and Leeds defender had previously identified the match against Spurs, who are top of the Premier League, as the likeliest target for his comeback.

United have been hit by several injuries to defenders in the early stages of the season, with Ferdinand's regular centre-back partner Nemanja Vidic missing the first two games of the season because of a calf injury before returning to the fray.

Jonny Evans was forced to come off before the end of the victories over Birmingham and Wigan as he continues to feel the effects of a long-standing ankle problem.

And the international break has supplied Ferguson with another injury to contend with after John O'Shea picked up a calf injury while on duty with the Republic of Ireland.

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