Ferdinand no where near fitness, admits Ferguson

DEFENDER Rio Ferdinand is still a month away from returning to action, according to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.

The England captain has spent the last two months recovering from the knee ligament injury which ruled him out of the World Cup.

Ferguson said: “Rio is nowhere near, no. He’s doing little bits of jogging and things like that but I think he’s a month away. We always anticipated it would take time. It’s a knee ligament and, although it wasn’t what you’d call a serious one, it was a hard one. You have to take time with knee ligaments.”

The Scot added: “Rio has had a bad 12 months and we hope it gets better for him. You hope the break over the summer with missing the World Cup will help him. The back injury seemed to sort itself out as the season went on, then he had the groin injury. He’s had a succession of these things and you don’t want to see that when a player is in his 30s.”

As usual, Ferguson has plenty of choice for strikers tonight, with Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov and in-form new recruit Javier Hernandez all vying for a start.

Michael Carrick is keen to be involved too, having ended last season with disappointing performances at United and complete inaction at the World Cup, where he was an unused substitute in all four England games.

“Last season was disappointing and I ended up having a hard summer,” he admitted.

“But this is my fifth season and during that time I have gained a lot of experience. I am more determined than ever. When you don’t get what you want, it hurts. You want it again badly.

“I am hungry for success, just as I was when I first came here.”