Fergie: Keane grounded for remainder of tour

ALEX FERGUSON will resist the temptation to fly Roy Keane to Japan for the last match of Manchester United’s Far East tour.

Keane’s absence from the Red Devils squad has been the major talking point of the trip, with Ferguson being forced to refute suggestions he left his skipper at home for disciplinary reasons following a bust-up at the club’s training camp in the Algarve three weeks ago.

On Monday, Ferguson declared the Corkman’s hamstring problem had left him unfit to travel, although Keane had recovered sufficiently by Tuesday night to play 30 minutes of a reserve team friendly against local non-league outfit Rossendale United.

But rather than put Keane’s fitness at risk by forcing him to make a 26-hour round-trip to Tokyo for Saturday’s encounter with Urawa Red Diamonds, Ferguson will send the 33-year-old to the more homespun surroundings of Walsall’s Bescot Stadium in an effort to gain some much-needed match practice.

“There is no point bringing Roy out at this stage because he could only play in one game,” said the United boss.

“We have another match at Walsall on Saturday, so as long as he came through last night’s game without a problem, he will play in that instead.”

While some will question Ferguson on the issue, particularly given the way United rushed players onto their US tour last summer after sponsors complained at the lack of star names, in this instance, his philosophy seems the correct one.

With wins over Hong Kong and Beijing Hyundai on this trip, the United camp expect the intensity to be cranked up a notch in their clash with J-League leaders Kashima Antlers today.

The venue should bring back some happy memories as Tokyo’s national stadium, not used for the 2002 World Cup, was where the Red Devils won the Intercontinental Cup for the only time in their history, ironically Keane the man who netted the winner against Brazil’s Palmeiras in 1999.

Ferguson is expected to make wholesale changes for a match which pits his side against opponents who have established a four-point lead in the J-League, losing just three of their 18 games so far.

Kashima expect to double their average 20,000 gate for the visit of Ferguson’s men, with Cristiano Ronaldo set to start along with Kleberson, whose long-term future at United remains in doubt despite the Old Trafford outfit rejecting bids from Celta Vigo and Besiktas for the World Cup winner.