United's injury nightmares continued as Rio Ferdinand limped off
against Middlesbrough with a recurrence of the groin injury he
picked up in the FA Cup semi final seven days ago.
The stand-in United captain appeared to tweak his muscle just
minutes before the break while snuffing out a Boro attack. The
visitors then snatched an equaliser in first-half injury time, with
Ferdinand hobbling.
Sir Alex confirmed Ferdinand's injury had a major impact on the
result and said the defender will likely miss the Reds' next four
games.
"Rio's injury was the biggest blow because I felt that if we could
get into half-time 1-0 up we'd be okay," the boss said. "His injury
isn't long-term
[I'd say he'll be out for], possibly, two weeks.
He should be back for the Chelsea game.
"But they got that goal in injury time [and] I think if Rio had
been fit they wouldn't have got it. That's the breaks in football
and you have to accept these things."
The Reds were dealt another blow when Kieran Richardson also failed
to appear for the second half. Richardson and Ferdinand join a host
of other United stars on the treatment table, including Nemanja
Vidic, Mikael Silvestre, Ji-sung Park, Louis Saha and Gary Neville.
The United boss also revealed youngster Craig Cathcart, drafted
into the first team in recent weeks, is a long-term casualty.
"We're now playing with just 12 fit players, really," Sir Alex
said. "Cathcart's out for the season too. He was injured during
training this week, so we don't really have any other defenders to
call on. We're down to the bare bones."
The one positive seems to be French full-back Patrice Evra, who
could return on Tuesday night when AC Milan come to Old Trafford in
the Champions League.
