Double injury blow for United
Ryan Giggs is definitely out of the trip to Spain after limping off with a hamstring injury as United were held to a 2-2 draw at Bolton yesterday.
And Wayne Rooney is also facing a race against time to be fit.
The England striker, who produced another subdued performance, suffered a gashed ankle before being withdrawn with half an hour of the game remaining, although Ferguson remains hopeful he will feature in midweek.
“Ryan’s is the more serious,” said the United manager. “It’s a hamstring I’m afraid. He’ll be out for a couple of weeks. As for Rooney, he should be fit for Wednesday.”
With Antonio Valencia out with a long-term ankle injury, Michael Carrick (achilles) and Owen Hargreaves (knee) also sidelined, Ferguson is facing a mounting injury crisis at a key stage of the season.
Rio Ferdinand was also missing at Bolton, the England defender not yet ready to play two games in a short space of time following his prolonged knee injury.
Giggs’s injury and Rooney’s scare contributed to a bad day for Ferguson and his team. With Chelsea and Arsenal both losing the day before, United blew a great chance to move to within a point of the summit.
It required a late goal by substitute Michael Owen to rescue the visitors after goals by Zat Knight and Martin Petrov had put Bolton 2-1 ahead. Nani had earlier scored United’s opener.
Ferguson’s side are still seeking their first away win of the season and have yet to record back-to-back victories. The United boss looked furious at the end but refused to dwell on the negatives afterwards.
“We created tremendous chances and played a lot of good football and did well to come from behind,” said Ferguson. “The second half was really even and I thought Bolton were a real handful. Our chances were reduced in the second half but we had plenty of possession.
“We must take credit for coming back again. Being behind twice away from home and coming back from it is not an easy thing to do.
“But it does show a bit of character and a lot of teams will come here and find it very difficult. Bolton are a handful in terms of the aerial ability that they have and their direct play at times is very good.
“It was a fair result. It was a really good match in the second half.
“Away from home this season we have scored seven goals and we have only got three points. It gives you a measure of the quality in the league. It’s a very difficult league.
“The plus points for us today was that we kept coming back and kept showing that character.”
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