Butt can fill Keane void, claims Albiston

Nicky Butt has been tipped by former Manchester United defender Arthur Albiston to fill the void left by absent skipper Roy Keane.

Keane has been ruled out until December after deciding to undergo surgery on a hip problem which has plagued him for the past few months.

Cynics have suggested the move has only been made because the 31-year-old might have been banned anyway through a combination of Saturday’s dismissal at Sunderland, plus likely FA action over his controversial autobiography.

Albiston believes Keane should have had the operation anyway regardless of outside forces, but he also thinks Butt - who had an outstanding World Cup campaign this summer - is more than capable of filling the void.

“He is not an eye-catching player, so some people take Nicky Butt for granted - but not the rest of the squad and not the supporters,” said Albiston.

“Nicky has come up through the youth ranks and understands exactly what the club is about. There will be no problem with him coming into the team.

“He has been unfortunate over the years with injuries and has often been the one left out of the side when everyone has been fit.

“But he stamped his authority on the team last season, even if he only really got noticed in the World Cup.”

It was Butt’s introduction into the team last term which coincided with United ending their dismal losing streak which virtually cost them any chance of a fourth successive title by the beginning of December.

With Keane out for three months, manager Alex Ferguson will have few problems fulfilling a pre-season promise to give Butt a regular starting berth this term.

Although a toe complaint has kept Butt out of the last two games, it is unlikely Keane would have been allowed to go under the surgeon’s knife if the England midfielder’s own problem had been anything approaching serious.

Butt shrugged off Ferguson’s pre-season praise, insisting that if he did not perform he would be dumped.

Albiston though believes he will forge a formidable combination with either Juan Sebastian Veron or the currently-injured Paul Scholes in the middle of the park.

“Nicky has a great understanding with Paul because of all the years they have played together,” said the former Scotland international.

“Juan is obviously a different type of player, capable of producing the kind of defence-splitting passes Nicky generally leaves to someone else.

“He maybe underestimated but you don’t make over 250 appearances for Manchester United without being able to play and I’m confident he will do well.”

Albiston also believes Keane has made the right decision to have the operation, the prospect of which was originally raised last week.

“It is not a case of him getting out of the limelight – you can’t do that at a club like Manchester United,” he said.

“What it might do is stop the poor publicity he has received over the last two or three months.

“But from a professional perspective, it is better to get the problem sorted out.

“I tried to play through injury during my own career and it is not the best thing to do.

“He obviously has a three-match ban coming for the red card at Sunderland, and there is talk of the FA bringing a charge over his book, so it seems to make sense to have it sorted now.

“Hopefully, he will be back in action by December and ready to go for the most important part of the season.”

Keane was expected to attend a book signing session in his home city of Cork on Thursday, the same day as he is expected to be charged by the FA over comments relating to his infamous tackle on Alfie Haaland in last year’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

Haaland is threatening legal action over the incident, as are Northern Irish outfit Linfield, who have been incensed by Keane’s forceful allegations of sectarianism in his autobiography.

The FA have ruled out any prospect of a charge being held over until the Irishman’s return from injury, privately admitting it was impossible to gauge when he would be back.

They also do not believe a precedent was set by the decision to delay the imposition of bans for Leeds duo Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills following their dismissals at Arsenal 12 months ago because the matter had been complicated by Bowyer’s high-profile court case, which had still not been settled at that time.