Ashley Young is a doubt for Saturday’s trip to
Everton after picking up a toe injury.
The winger will be assessed on Friday before a decision is made
and he's not the only player in the United camp nursing bumps and
bruises.
"We have one or two knocks," Sir Alex Ferguson revealed at
his Friday press conference. "Ashley Young has a toe injury and
we’ll see what he’s like today.
"The knocks are nothing serious and I hope we’ll have a strong
enough squad for tomorrow."
Fall-out from
last week's derby defeat has
dominated the press and Sir Alex says it's time to put a difficult
week – eased only slightly by Tuesday's Carling Cup win at
Aldershot – in the past.
"We hope we can recover from the disappointment of last
week," the Reds boss said. "We’ve done that well over the
years and we have to do that again.
"Nothing changes in football. The challenge is always there to
be the very best, which we hope we can do now.
"Once the international football finishes after the next period,
all the clubs will get settled and kick on in terms of having
uninterrupted run between November and March.
"It’s been a tough week for everyone – it was a bad result last
Sunday. We have to get over it, though – the fans, the players, the
staff. We must kick on."
United are without a win at Goodison Park since 2007 and can
expect another tough encounter this weekend against David Moyes'
side, who suffered a 2-1 extra-time Carling Cup exit to
Chelsea in midweek.
Louis Saha scored the Toffees' goal in that game to make it two
in as many games for the former Reds frontman.
Sir Alex added: "It’s always a difficult game at Everton. I went
to see their game on Wednesday. They all put a shift in and are
always committed.
"We know what Louis is capable of – he has fantastic ability and
we have to make sure we do our best [against him]."
The likes of Ezekiel Fryers, Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison and
Michael Keane got a chance to impress in the Reds' 3-0
win over the Shots and Sir Alex says his
youngsters are all knocking on the door of the first team.
"They’re always in my mind," he said. "We had a lot of good
performances on Tuesday – it was a very professional display. When
you’re picking from 25 players it is difficult, but I know all the
players will contribute this season.
"We enjoyed Tuesday night but we need to show ourselves
tomorrow."
