Sir Alex Ferguson said that Owen Hargeaves would be out for up
to five weeks. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty
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Manchester United have been hit with a
virus ahead of tomorrow's derby against City with Patrice Evra,
Nemanja Vidic, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes all believed to be
among the victims.
The illness swept through their Carrington training complex
following the squad's return from Turkey and, with Ryan Giggs ruled
out with a hamstring injury and Nani doubtful after tweaking a
groin, it means that Sir Alex Ferguson may have to rely on some of
the untested members of his squad for the match with
Manchester City at Eastlands. "It is not a great
position for us to be in. We are counting heads at the moment," he
said.
The Manchester United manager also confirmed that he expects
Owen Hargreaves to be out for five weeks with the hamstring injury
which forced him to limp off after only five minutes of United's
match with Wolves on Saturday.
"We were at the stage where we knew Owen's knee was OK,"
Ferguson said. "His training performances for eight or nine days
previously had been terrific. He had done really well, which is why
we took the chance. But maybe the tension in the build-up for the
lad was too much and he suffered because of it."
Despite having to contend with a depleted squad Ferguson was
still confident ahead of the highly anticipated match. "There is
nothing more satisfying than winning a derby game. It doesn't
matter what year it is or when it is," said Ferguson, who oversaw
three victories against City last season including two in the
league by way of last-minute goals and one at Old Trafford in the
Carling Cup semi-final second leg.
Ferguson accepted that Manchester City's resources mean that
they are bound to challenge for the title but it is still a
difficult league to win. "If clubs have money and want to spend it,
they will," said Ferguson. "Chelsea did the same. So did Sunderland
back in the 1950s. It is not an unusual thing. It is a fact of
life.
"The only difference is that City is an untapped well at the
moment. But it is difficult to say whether it is inevitable they
are going to win the league at some point. Obviously, in many
people's eyes, having the money is a lot better than not having it.
But it is still a difficult league to win. City recognise that
themselves."
