Injury trouble Manchester United

Injury worries for Reds

United have injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s early-evening trip to Aston Villa, with Dimitar Berbatov and Wes Brown definitely out and Rio Ferdinand unlikely to play.

Bulgarian striker Berbatov sustained a hamstring injury on international duty this week, and is touch-and-go for next weekend’s Manchester derby, while Brown will be missing for several weeks after undergoing exploratory surgery on an ongoing ankle injury.

While Ferdinand is unlikely to feature at Villa Park after missing England’s midweek international with a back injury, there is some respite in the news that Wayne Rooney should be back after taking part in training for the last two days.

“Rio is very doubtful for tomorrow, I don’t think he’ll make it,” Sir Alex Ferguson told his pre-match press conference. “Rooney has a good chance, he trained on Wednesday and Thursday and if he comes through today he should be involved.

"Berbatov will miss Saturday and Tuesday's match against Villarreal, but there’s a slight chance he may be available for the City game. It’s not a tear, it’s a strain. But you don’t take any chances with hamstrings, there’s no point making it worse.

"Wes will be missing for a few weeks. There’s no timescale on it, but may be about 4-5 weeks. It’s disappointing, but we’ve got cover with Gary (Neville) and Rafael, and John O’Shea can also play there.”

The manager confirmed there were no further injury concerns, although he is yet to see Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, who arrived home on Thursday evening after their exertions in Brazil.