Our defensive injuries don’t show any sign of letting up, with Rio Ferdinand ruled out for up to a month. Whilst Vidic is hopeful for the weekend, Neville is still doubtful and Van der Sar and Rafael are still injured.

“Rio is going to be out for three to four weeks,” said Ferguson. “Nemanja has trained with us for 10 days and he is ready for the game. Hopefully he will be okay by tomorrow so that is a positive piece of news. Gary Neville also played for 15 or 20 minutes on Wednesday night and he could be ready too so that gives us a bit of experience.”