• Central defender's absence appears to be
precautionary
• Evans, Macheda, Anderson, Rooney, Giggs and Owen also out
Rio
Ferdinand was the major absentee from the
20-man Manchester
United party which headed to Turkey this
morning for their Champions League
encounter with Bursaspor.
No official explanation was given for Ferdinand's absence
although he confirmed on Twitter that he is not injured and it
seems likely that Sir Alex Ferguson's decision was precautionary
due to the defender's long-term back problems. With Premier League
games against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City and Aston
Villa to follow in the next fortnight, Ferdinand has almost
certainly been excused to give him the best possible chance of
featuring in those fixtures.
Jonny Evans, Federico Macheda, Anderson plus long-term victims
Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen were also missing, with
Ferguson pledging to pick virtually his strongest possible side
from the players that did travel. "I would rather take a strong
squad and get through," the manager told the Manchester Evening
News. "If we win the match we have 10 points and that's us really
qualified. I have to look at it that way."
Michael Carrick was on the plane and the midfielder has rejected
the theory that the Champions League group stage is becoming less
of a challenge. "The Champions League is not easier than it used to
be," the England international said.
"In terms of the stature and history of the clubs, it might not
be as good, but the games are still tough, especially away from
home. People might point to our away record, which is very good,
but all those matches have been hard.
"Travelling to Turkey, for instance, presents you with a long
journey and a different type of atmosphere. You are encountering
players that you don't see every week. It brings a different
challenge to Barcelona, Inter and Real Madrid. It is something you
have to face if you want to continue in the competition."
Van der Sar, Amos, Kuszczak; Evra, Brown, Vidic, Smalling,
Rafael, Fabio, O'Shea; Eikrem, Scholes, Obertan, Bebé, Fletcher,
Carrick, Park, Nani; Berbatov, Hernández.
