Injury, not Ferguson, grounds Keane

ROY KEANE’S lawyer has dismissed claims that the Man United skipper was axed from the Red Devils’ current Far East tour because of a bust-up with Alex Ferguson.

It was claimed yesterday that Ferguson and Keane had a furious altercation at United’s training camp in Portugal three weeks ago after Keane objected to players’ wives and children being invited onto the trip.

The implication was that Keane, who was officially omitted from Ferguson’s 23-man squad because of a hamstring injury, had actually been left out for disciplinary reasons.

Ferguson has refused to comment on the speculation and club officials remained tight-lipped yesterday when the United party flew into China for the second leg of their four-match tour.

Instead, Keane’s long-time adviser Michael Kennedy has responded on his client’s behalf. And while there is no denial of an argument with Ferguson, the suggestion that it resulted in Keane being forced to stay at home was flatly rejected.

“The allegation that Roy Keane was left out of the club tour of Asia because of a row with his manager is completely without foundation,” said Kennedy.

“He remained in Manchester in order to continue his treatment for a hamstring injury. Any disagreement he may have had with his manager is a private matter and will not be the subject of comment by him in the media.”

Ferguson is due to attend a press conference today to promote tomorrow’s encounter with Beijing Hyundai, when he is likely to be quizzed further on the issue.

Whether the Scot will decide to enter any public debate is another matter given his previous reluctance to divulge information he deems to belong to the sacred sanctuary of the dressing room.

Given the esteem with which he holds Keane, the suggestion Ferguson might prevent him being part of a tour which is such a vital part of United’s pre-season programme always appeared a little odd.

However, in an effort to avoid the early season stumble which wrecked last season’s title challenge, Ferguson called his squad back a week earlier than usual, but with training on the Algarve restricted to half-daily sessions, the United boss decided to let wives and children accompany his squad for the duration of the week-long stay.

It seems the move did not go down well with Keane, who stormed out of Ireland’s World Cup preparations in Saipan three years ago after voicing sustained complaints over Mick McCarthy’s training methods and the facilities available.

Ferguson’s attention to detail is such that Keane is highly unlikely to have found any issue over the training complex itself. But what is likely to have annoyed the United skipper is attention being diverted away from preparations for the new season.

After two successive failures in the Premiership and Champions League, the notoriously single-minded midfielder felt the Old Trafford squad should have been concentrating their energies solely on training - and is thought to have told Ferguson so in a typically frank manner.

Despite occasional disagreements, the pair have always been close and the United manager rarely misses an opportunity to remind the world how important Keane is to his plans.

It is understood Keane was troubled by a hamstring problem on the Portugal trip and his absence from the squad was initially confirmed in Hong Kong a week before departure.

One report yesterday said that when training began, Keane moved his family into the complex United had hired for the week but was unhappy to find arrangements there unsuitable for his young children. He moved his family back into their holiday villa - to the United manager’s considerable annoyance - and an argument ensued.