Sir Alex Ferguson had to field a side diluted with fringe talent
or old legs in Sunday's opening fixture against visiting Newcastle
United.
The Old Trafford side's injury or absent list was nearly as large
as their recent trophy haul, but despite this, Sir Alex is
confident that should the Red Devils not add any minions, they will
still be able to compete on all fronts this campaign.
Michael Carrick is set to miss England's international friendly
against Czech Republic due to an ankle knock. Ryan Giggs too has
been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Park Ji-Sung has knee
complications, as does Owen Hargreaves, and Louis Saha, and
Cristiano Ronaldo is due to miss up to eight weeks due to the
necessary surgury required to aid his troublesome ankle.
United are also missing Argentine forward Carlos Tevez. The bulky
striker has flown back to his homeland to be with his family
following a family bereavement. Anderson, who is also fit, but is
still an M16 absentee due to Brazilian participation in the Beijing
Olympics.
Sir Alex Ferguson is quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: "If a new
signing happens it happens. The squad we had last season is still
good enough. Carlos Tevez will be back for the Portsmouth game next
week. Anderson is due back from the Olympics by the time we play
Liverpool and Chelsea and Wayne Rooney will be more effective for
playing 90 minutes against Newcastle," he added "if we have to go
with what we have, we will do."
Manchester United have a tough run of games coming up with a return
fixture against Portsmouth, whom they have played twice over the
summer - once in the Community Shield and once in a friendly in
Nigeria. Then they face key matches against hated rivals Liverpool,
then Chelsea.
Regarding the fixture list, Sir Alex said: "We have been
handicapped... but there are 37 games to go, so we have plenty of
time."