Vidic blow for United
Vidic has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Community Shield showpiece against Chelsea at Wembley and the following game with Birmingham because of a calf injury.
Wes Brown is also sidelined this weekend with a thigh problem but is expected back for the opening league match while Gary Neville is unavailable because of a groin strain.
Ferguson said: “Neither Wes or Nemanja have long-term injuries. I would expect Wes to be fit for the game a week on Sunday.
“As for Vidic he pulled his calf in the warm-up in Munich (against Bayern Munich) and is two weeks away.
“Gary is doing a little bit of training and coming on fine but I do not think he will make Sunday.”
And the United boss is convinced Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak are both capable of filling Edwin van der Sar’s shoes during his enforced absence through injury.
That’s why the Manchester United manager has ruled out bringing in a more experienced goalkeeper with the Dutchman expected to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks as his broken fingers heal.
Ferguson has yet to name his preferred choice for Sunday’s clash. “I have no interest in anyone else. I am definitely happy with what I have got,’’ he said.
Ferguson would not be drawn on whether he would be naming a regular starter between the posts while Van der Sar recovers. Both Foster and Kuszczak played a half in the 2-0 victory against Valencia in midweek.
“It depends on performances really,” said the Old Trafford boss. “If you have watched the games Ben and Tomasz have played, Tomasz has had more activity and therefore more saves to make. But I will speak to both of them about the situation.
“We have a selection dilemma as to who plays in goal on Sunday. It is not an easy one for me.” Ferguson believes his players are ahead of schedule in terms of fitness.
He said: “Over the years we have treated the Shield as a barometer for players’ fitness. We felt certain players needed games. I am not looking at it that way now.
“I feel the players’ fitness is very good. They’ve all had the appropriate minutes on the clock so all those involved on Sunday will be at a good level.”
Ferguson’s opposite number Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, claims Chelsea have finished their business in the summer transfer window.
The Blues have made just three signings this summer, with Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge and Yuri Zhirkov moving to Stamford Bridge.
They have also been linked consistently with AC Milan’s Andrea Pirlo as well as Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery. However Ancelotti has confirmed there are no plans to add to the squad before the transfer window closes.
“Now we stay with the players I’ve got. I don’t want to take other players because the squad is very competitive,” said Ancelotti.
“We don’t need other players and I don’t expect to make any more signings before the window shuts.”
Ancelotti also cleared the air over the futures of both midfielder Deco and defender Ricardo Carvalho.
Both players have been linked with a move to Inter Milan, now coached by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who also worked with the pair at Porto.
Mourinho moaned that Chelsea had made it difficult for Inter to sign the pair by increasing the size of the fee.
But Ancelotti claimed Chelsea had never considered selling the duo and confirmed they would be key assets in his squad this season.
“We never talked about selling Carvalho or Deco,” declared Ancelotti.
“They are important players for Chelsea. Carvalho is a very intelligent defender and Deco has a great quality. They will stay at Chelsea for this season.
“We don’t have the idea to sell the players. If one player is not happy to stay with us, he has to say it to us. But at the moment nobody asked to go.”
Chelsea have just two injury doubts for tomorrow’s game with Zhirkov struggling with a knee problem and Joe Cole still recovering from his ligament injury.
“Zhirkov is the only player with a problem,” said Ancelotti.
“He has a knee injury. He didn’t train in the last few days and I don’t know if he can play Sunday. He is the only one.”
Ancelotti added: “I think we are ready to start this season against Manchester United on Sunday. It will be a very difficult match but we are excited and very happy to play at Wembley.
“It will be the first time for me to be at Wembley. It is not a friendly game, it is very important for us. We play against a great team. They were in the final of the Champions League last season.
“We have respect for this team but we want to win and play well. We want to put our quality on the pitch. It will be an interesting match.”
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