Sir Alex Ferguson will have the rare luxury of a fully
fit back four for the trip to Birmingham on Saturday, although the
United boss must do without Nemanja Vidic for up to ten days.
The Serbian visited a specialist on Wednesday for a
full diagnosis of the nerve problem down the side of his right leg
which ruled him out of the FA Cup third round defeat to Leeds.
However, the injury isn't considered serious and Vidic could return
for the Carling Cup semi-final, first leg tie with Manchester City
at Eastlands on Tuesday 19 January.
“During the warm-up against Leeds, he felt a problem in the nerve,”
explained Sir Alex. “It’s something which has been a recent problem
for him and he just didn’t feel confident enough to play. I
understand that because it’s painful. We sent him to a specialist
to get the problem diagnosed and we know what exercises he needs to
do now. It’s not a long-term issue and we can control it.”
On Saturday the Reds will still be without first-choice men Vidic,
Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar, who remains in Holland. But
Jonny Evans and Wes Brown are both fit and will occupy the two
centre-back positions at St. Andrew's against Alex McLeish’s
in-form side.
The centre-half situation looks a lot healthier than in recent
weeks, however, and it could be significantly bolstered in the next
fortnight with Vidic’s impending return and news that Ferdinand is
possibly only two weeks away from resuming duties for the first
time since defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on 25 October.
Another player making a significant strides towards full recovery
is Owen Hargreaves. The midfielder, who has been out for 16 months
following double knee surgery, has started training with the
Reserves.