Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic will both miss
Manchester
United's Champions League trip to
Rangers.
Although the central defensive duo trained at Carrington this
morning, neither were part of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad for the
Battle of Britain clash at Ibrox.
With a Premier League meeting with in-form Blackburn looming on
Saturday and a Carling Cup quarter-final at West Ham next Tuesday,
Ferguson has opted to give both men a rest, believing his squad are
capable of gaining the point required to secure qualification for
the knock-out phase without them.
Look Roo's back: Wayne Rooney trains with the rest
of United squad on Tuesday
Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans, who has not featured
since the Carling Cup win over Wolves in October, are expected to
deputise.
In addition, Darren Fletcher also sits out the return to
Scotland. Although he has had a heavy workload recently, Fletcher
would have relished an outing for United north of the border.
Darron Gibson and Gary Neville were the other notable absentees
from training this morning as United stayed at Carrington for their
final session ahead of their short flight to Glasgow.
Ryan Giggs took part in training and Wayne Rooney is expected to
make his first start since the Premier League visit to Bolton at
the beginning of last month.
Meanwhile Park Ji-sung, looking ahead to the Battle of Britain
collision, does not feel it quite matches the games he plays for
South Korea against Japan.
'We have a long history with Japan,' he said. 'When South Korea
play against Japan the fans tell us that if we lose they are going
to throw the players into the sea. Without doubt, they are the
biggest thing for us.'
Excited: United midfielder Park Ji-Sung is
expecting a special game at the Ibrox
Yet Park is acutely aware of the cross-border tensions
that surround English meetings with Scotland.
His own experiences involve Celtic. But he knows he should
expect something similarly special.
'The atmosphere in the stadium is totally different,' he said.
'You cannot compare it to a league game or others in the Champions
League. It more aggressive on the pitch and the atmosphere in the
stadium is really high. There is a lot more media attention as
well.
'Nobody has to say anything, it is just a natural feeling that
this is a different game. And it doesn't only apply to the British
players. It is equally special for the foreign ones as well.
'If we get a draw we will be through but we are not going there
to get one point. We want three.
'If we get through the manager can rest a few players for the
last game, which is a far better option for home when you consider
the number of league games and other cup ties we still have to deal
with.'
