Manchester United booked a place in the Carling Cup final on
Tuesday night with a 4-3
aggregate win over Derby County, but a raft of
fresh injuries meant victory came at a steep price for Sir Alex
Ferguson.
United could be without Rafael for at least a month
after he sustained a torn hamstring, Brazilian midfielder Anderson left the pitch on a
stretcher after suffering an ankle injury and Nani, Gary Neville and Jonny Evans all picked up
knocks.
With an FA Cup fourth round tie coming on Saturday against
Tottenham Hotspur, Sir Alex Ferguson, already without Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra, admitted the
situation was not ideal.
''There are probably six or seven of them who have picked up
injuries,'' confirmed the United manager. ''It has been a bad night
in that respect''.
''We finished with 10 men but it was effectively nine because
Jonny was in great discomfort. We will just have to see what
happens now.''
Darren
Fletcher is almost certain to be called on as a
makeshift right-back, while Fabio might be handed his senior debut
against Spurs if Neville does not make it.
It took the gloss off victory in an entertaining contest, as
Nani, John O'Shea and Carlos Tevez scored before
half-time and, although Giles Barnes found the net twice for Derby,
Cristiano Ronaldo split them
with a penalty of his own - ending a barren run in domestic combat
that stretched back to November 15 - to ensure the Red Devils made
it through.
Derby boss Nigel Clough was not too downhearted either given his
team's performance had been a vast improvement on their shoddy
effort against QPR at the weekend.
''The first goal knocked the stuffing out of us; 30 yards in the
top corner you can't do much about those,'' he said. ''Defending
the second and third goals was disappointing but it was a vast
improvement on Saturday - even the first half.
''It would be very easy to give up the ghost but we showed a bit
of character, which after Saturday was what we were looking
for.''
After the game Ferguson vowed to stick with his youngsters for
the Carling Cup final at the beginning of March.
Darron
Gibson, John O'Shea and Danny Welbeck have been among
the unsung heroes who have been regular performers in the
competition this term.
And they can all bank on retaining their spots as United compete
in their 14th domestic final of Ferguson's reign.
''They will all play in the final,'' said Ferguson. ''They
deserve to. It is always a great occasion at Wembley but the only
way you can really enjoy it is by winning.''
