Fergie not ruling Keane and Brown out of Far East tour

Simon Stone

An announcement from tour organisers in Hong Kong yesterday claimed the pair had been ruled out of the trip with unspecified injuries, and that Argentinian full-back Gabriel Heinze would also be rested.

Yet Ferguson, who will head to Asia with his squad next Thursday, has contradicted that news by claiming the duo could yet be fit.

Although Ferguson did confirm Keane and Brown were presently sidelined, he claimed they had not yet been ruled out.

“They are both injured at the moment, but I am still quite positive,” he said.

“We have taken Roy out of training because he picked up a hamstring injury last week, so he has been doing gym work, while Wes has been feeling his Achilles, which happens quite a lot on firm, hard ground.

“It is still quite tender but he is back in light jogging.”

Ferguson will try to drill into his charges that they must remain unbeaten this season if they are to reclaim their title.

Between them, the previous two champions Arsenal and Chelsea have lost just one game, Jose Mourinho’s men suffering their only reverse at Manchester City last term following the Gunners’ historic unbeaten 38-game campaign in 2003-04.

Action has already been taken by the Scot, who called his team back for pre-season training a week earlier than usual in an effort to ensure they are fully tuned up for the opening-day clash at Everton on August 13.

Goodison Park was the scene of one of five defeats for United last term, when they never recovered from the loss of their first game, at Chelsea, and ended up an embarrassing 17 points adrift of Mourinho’s men.

Ferguson is acutely aware Chelsea have raised the bar and he knows exactly how high his team must now jump. “We have to make sure we are flying right from the first game of the season,” said the Scot.

“In a lot of seasons in the past we have been behind at Christmas and gone by the leaders by the middle of March. But over the last two years, Chelsea and Arsenal have suffered an average of half a defeat a season.

“The game has changed. It looks as if we are possibly starting saying we cannot afford to lose a game.”

Ferguson is honest enough to admit all the goalscoring problems which affected his side throughout last season came to a cruel conclusion during the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal, a game United dominated almost completely without being able to find the net.

“What happened in the cup final was not an accident,” he said. “It had been happening all season.

“There is a greater responsibility on players to take chances but I am sure it was just a one-off.

“You cannot dismiss Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s scoring abilities but he had a terribly fragmented season last year because of injuries. The continuity just wasn’t there for him in terms of his injuries.

“We also hope Louis Saha stays fit and when you throw in Wayne Rooney’s fantastic tally, the potential for goals in this side is there without question.