Ferdinand close to Man Utd return

Ferdinand missed the World Cup with a knee injury

Rio Ferdinand is close to making a return for Manchester United after recovering from a knee ligament injury ahead of schedule.

The 31-year-old defender suffered the injury while training with England on 4 June and missed the World Cup.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had not expected him back until late September.

But he explained: "He won't play against West Ham [on Saturday] but we have to think when we can get a game in the next two weeks, he is that close."

Ferguson added: "Rio has trained this week. He's surprised me with his progress, it's fantastic."

Ferdinand injured his knee in a collision with team-mate Emile Heskey during England's first training session in Rustenburg as they prepared for the World Cup in South Africa.

The centre-back will miss England's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday 3 September and Switzerland on Tuesday 7 September.

606: DEBATE When playing at his best; and that has been most of the time for 10 years; there are few central defenders in the world that one would rate above him seventeenth

But after ruling Ferdinand out until late September only seven days ago, Ferguson has been impressed by his dramatic improvement.

"Rio hadn't done anything football-wise when I spoke last week," said Ferguson.

"When he read what I said maybe it gave him a kick. But he has come in and trained this week and done fantastic. He will train with the reserves on Friday.

"Everything is fine with him. You have to be careful with ligament injuries, so we will monitor his progress but he is keen."

Ferdinand could feature in a reserve match or a friendly behind closed doors next week.

That would then put him in contention for a Premier League clash against Everton on 11 September and the following matches against Rangers and Liverpool.

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