Serbia have kindly agreed not to play Nemanja Vidic in their friendly tonight against Israel to reduce the chances of him getting injured before the derby this weekend.
Rio Ferdinand injured himself in the warm up ahead of our defeat to Wolves and the manager is obviously concerned about losing Vida too.
Of the last 8 headed goals against United, Rio was playing in none of them. Jonny Evans filled in at the weekend but the manager seemed to acknowledge after the game that Chris Smalling would be a better replacement.
It is the clubs who pay these players wages but so often national football teams put unfair pressure on the players to represent their country, even if they’re battling with injury and risk further damage. It’s nice to see a bit of respect and common sense from the Serbian Football Association.
In contrast to Vidic’s absence, Ferguson will be hoping Rooney get some game time to try and improve his form and boost his confidence ahead of our next game. And if he gets injured, there’s always the more in form strikers, Dimitar Berbatov and Chicharito…
